Cascading
by pamplemousse07
Summary: A collection of one-shots including our favorite Prince and Princess, Eugene and Rapunzel :D
1. Curiosity

**Woot, the computer is working again! It didn't take as long as I expected :D All right so I decided to bunch some one-shots together to make our lives easier. I only have this one, but there will be more! This idea is NOT mine. Crystal Persian gave me the idea and we collaborated together. Hope you enjoy!**

"_Nope… not here,"_ Eugene sighed, shutting yet another door in the castle. He continued down the long stretch of hallway, wondering where on earth Rapunzel was. She very rarely disappeared completely; it was very unlike her. Opening door after door, Eugene suddenly felt rather stupid. Of course, she would be in the library. Where else would she be? That's where she spends most of her free time, anyway. He hurried to the library and nudged open the door.

"Rapunzel?" No answer. He walked around, not seeing her. "Rapunzel, are you in here?" He walked to the very back corner of the library and finally found her.

She was slumped against a bookshelf, sleeping, a book lying on her stomach. Eugene almost had to laugh; it didn't look very comfortable. He reached down and picked up the book, curious about what she had been reading. The Tales of Flynnig- Wait, what?

_The Tales of Flynnigan Rider._ Why was she reading this? Better yet, where did she find this? He flipped the book around in his hand, desperately wanting to open it and read it as well, but also not wanting to. He glanced at Rapunzel and stuffed the book inside his vest. He crouched down beside her and delicately lifted her off the ground. She didn't stir and Eugene headed back to her bedroom. It was quite simple, actually, carrying her. She weighed about as much as a cat and was lying limp. Eugene kept finding himself looking down at her face wondering how on earth he, once a thief, got so lucky to meet a girl like her. Rapunzel suddenly sighed and twisted strangely in his arms, grabbing Eugene's vest. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing stayed steady, so Eugene continued walking.

He reached her bedroom and turned the light on, dimly. Walking over to the bed, he lowered Rapunzel, but she was still grasping his vest. He had to pry her fingers off and lay her on the bed. Eugene pulled the book from his vest and sat next to Rapunzel.

"Why were you reading this book, Blondie?" He whispered to himself. He began to open the cover, but then decided against it. Even though he was Flynn Rider for the majority of his life, he didn't want to remember it. He continued to stare at the book, wanting to open it, but not wanting to. He kept internally fighting with himself to just open it, no, don't open it! Frustrated, Eugene dropped the book on the bed, out of his sight. He rubbed his eyes, sighing.

"You seem a little at war with yourself." Eugene nearly jumped off the bed. Rapunzel was turned towards him, her eyes wide open, and smiling.

"Blondie! What-why-how long have you been awake?" Eugene dramatically placed his hand over his heart.

"Long enough to know that you're frustrated. And wondering why I was reading it," Rapunzel replied, nodding at the book.

"You get better and better every day," Eugene said, shaking his head. Rapunzel laughed and sat up.

"I only learn from the best." Eugene grinned and picked up the book.

"So why _were_ you reading this? And where did you find it?"

"Well, that library has a lot of books. I just happened to come across it, and I was curious."

"But you obviously didn't enjoy it. You fell asleep." Eugene handed her the book. She flipped through the pages and replied,

"No, I didn't really enjoy it. That Flynnigan Rider was a little too obnoxious for me." Rapunzel glanced at Eugene. "I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better." Eugene smiled at her and Rapunzel leaned in and kissed him quickly. She leapt off the bed and exclaimed,

"Let's go do something. I bet Maximus could do with a visit."

"Rapunzel, it's one in the morning." Rapunzel placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "And you're not allowed out anyway! It's too late Rapunzel." He stood up and walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She continued to glare at him. She threw her arms up in the air, headed for the door and teased,

"C'_mon _Eugene. Live a little."


	2. Dances

**I couldn't help myself… XD I needed to write a Valentines Day one-shot! So, I hope you enjoy and reviews are better than all the Valentines Day chocolates in the world :)**

"Happy Valentines Day," Eugene said softly, opening the large, white door in front of them. Rapunzel gasped when the door opened and saw a large ballroom. Eugene smiled as she ran into the room, spinning around.

"Oh my gosh! This is… this is amazing!" Eugene walked over to her in the center of the room and she was practically glowing. "Thank you!" She threw her arms around his neck and he squeezed her tightly.

"I figured that maybe you wanted a dance," He said into her neck. Rapunzel hadn't realized that they never danced together. They almost did, right before the lanterns, but they were cut short. And this was much more special. Rapunzel nodded and Eugene took her left hand and held it out with his right. She placed her other hand on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Eugene, do you know how to…?" Before she could finish, Eugene had them twirling around the ballroom. Rapunzel giggled, feeling a little funny.

"How long have you known how to dance?" Eugene laughed.

"I've been taking lessons _all_ month. Trust me." Rapunzel rested her head on his shoulder and they slowed down. Gently shifting from one side to the other, Eugene kissed the top of her head. Rapunzel felt as though everything were a dream. She never imagined she would be here, with Eugene, dancing in this beautiful ballroom.

"Eugene?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you." There was a moments silence and Rapunzel pulled back, staring up at Eugene, who was smiling.

"I love you too, Blondie." And with that, Rapunzel pressed herself against him and kissed him softly.

"Then for the record… you could use some more lessons." She pulled away from him and began twirling around by herself, laughing.

"You think? Wow Blondie, that was harsh," Eugene said quietly to himself. Rapunzel continued to dance around and called to him,

"Are you going to come and do some real dancing, or what?" Eugene raised his eyebrows, but did not think twice about walking to Rapunzel. She grabbed his hands and they began bouncing around the ballroom.

"See? Isn't this much better?" Rapunzel asked.

"You-seem-a-little-tired," Eugene panted. He bent over and placed his hands on his knees. "Rapunzel…I need… I need a break!" Completely exhausted, Eugene collapsed into a chair.

"Eugene? Are-are you okay?" Rapunzel tentatively walked over to him. He was holding his face in his hands and gasping for breath. "Eugene?" Rapunzel asked again.

"Gotcha!" Eugene leapt up from the chair and scooped Rapunzel up in his arms.

"Hey, Eugene!" She kicked her legs wildly, and nearly kicked him in the nose.

"Rapunzel… stop!" She lowered her legs, looking inquiringly at Eugene and he began walking. "Let's be honest. I'm not much of a dancer." Rapunzel laughed and poked his cheek.

"Well, that was pretty obvious. But, thank you for doing it."

"You're more than welcome," Eugene said with a smile.

"Happy Valentines Day, Eugene," Rapunzel said, pulling herself closer to Eugene.

"Happy Valentines Day." Eugene kissed her nose and began swirling around.

"Eugene! Put me down!" She kicked again and Eugene, laughing, placed her on the ground. "Don't _do_ that!" Eugene put his hands up in the air.

"Hey. I'm just trying to have a good time." Rapunzel rolled her eyes at him.

"Then you should probably pay more attention to your surroundings." Rapunzel lifted her arm and was holding the bracelet that she had given him, only hours before. Eugene grabbed his wrist.

"How did you…?" He made a lunge for the bracelet but she snatched it away just in time.

"You'll have to catch me!" She cried running away. Eugene chucked to himself before chasing her down the long hallway.

**That was a hard one to end. I sat here FOREVER trying to figure out how to end it! Hope you liked :D**


	3. Unexpected News

"I… I have an announcement," Rapunzel said softly, rising from the table. Her parents watched her, questioningly. "Um… well, I guess I should…" She rubbed her hands together and looked at Eugene, who was as confused as ever. Rapunzel gulped.

"I'm… pregnant."

Eugene choked on his water.

He sprayed it all over the table and grabbed at his throat. The Queen, ignoring Eugene, stood up and hugged Rapunzel while the King looked shocked as well. Catching his breath, Eugene looked at Rapunzel, who looked slightly worried. He pointed at himself, raising his eyebrows and Rapunzel rolled her eyes as if to say, _"Who else?"_ The Queen kissed Rapunzel's forehead and glanced at Eugene. Smiling at Rapunzel, she excused herself from the room. The King rose and patted Eugene's shoulder as he walked to Rapunzel and hugged her as well.

"He'll come around. Don't worry," He said. Rapunzel smiled at him and he also excused himself. Rapunzel looked at Eugene who has holding his head in his hands. She slowly walked over to him and sat down.

"Eugene?" She asked quietly. He lifted his head.

"I'm… I'm going to be," He swallowed, "Daddy?" Rapunzel nodded. Eugene leaned back in his chair and stretched, letting out a sigh.

"You're not upset?" Rapunzel asked.

"Well, it's kind of a shock. I never pictured myself having… _kids._"

"I never did either," Rapunzel stated matter-of-factly. Eugene glanced at Rapunzel's stomach. He didn't know how he hadn't realized it before.

"How long have you been pregnant?"

"Well… a while, actually. Only a few months! I was scared, okay?" Eugene hesitated, but then reached over and placed his hand on her stomach. She grinned and placed her hand on top of his.

"Hmm… Daddy… I guess I could get used to it," Eugene said.

"And I'm going to be Mommy," Rapunzel replied, practically glowing. "I'm going to be a mom," She repeated, unable to hide her excitement. Eugene kissed her forehead and said,

"Sorry if I scared you. I'm happy, I really am." Rapunzel's smile grew bigger, if it was even possible.

"Really?" Eugene nodded. "Good. Because we're having twins."

**Ohh snap! I'm not really sure about this whole pregnancy thing and how far along she had to be to know she was having twins, but whatever. It was still fun to write! Hope you enjoyed :D**


	4. Remember When

"Remember when I healed your hand? The look on your face!" Rapunzel exclaimed, laughing and Eugene laughed along with her. They were sitting outside having a picnic and remembering events from the year before.

"Hey! That was a shocker. You don't normally come across someone with magical hair," Eugene said in his defense. Rapunzel absentmindedly took a strand of her hair in her hand.

"Remember when I took you to the Snuggly Duckling?" Eugene asked, distracting her. Rapunzel smiled.

"And I was completely horrified?"

"And then you made them all sing?"

"And then _you_ sang?" Eugene laughed.

"That I did… Good times, huh?" Rapunzel giggled and popped a grape into her mouth. Eugene, remembering a particular moment, said,

"Remember when you nearly murdered me trying to get me in your closet?" He _had_ been unconscious, but the bruises had said enough. Rapunzel began hysterical laughing at the memory of all she had gone through to get him in there. She tried to catch her breath, but her eyes suddenly when wide.

"Rapunzel?" Eugene asked as she groped at her neck, eyes bulging. Without thinking, Eugene leapt behind Rapunzel and squeezed her around the middle. She continued to gasp and with one final squeeze, the grape came flying from her mouth. Rapunzel took a huge breath and fell forward onto the blanket. She continued to cough, and Eugene patted her back.

"You okay?" Still coughing, Rapunzel nodded. She rolled over onto her back and clutched her throat.

"Ow," She said. Eugene smiled when she realized she was okay.

"Hey, now we're even," He said, lying down next to her.

"Meaning what?" He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"You saved my life, I saved yours." Rapunzel smiled and inched closer to him.

"Remember when we saw the lanterns?" Eugene stretched his arms and pulled Rapunzel closer to him.

"All too well, Blondie."

**Yay :) That was an awfully short one, but I like it! Hope you did too!**


	5. Anniversary

"Remind me why we're doing this, again?"

"_Because,_ Eugene, it's our anniversary!"

"Yes, Rapunzel, but it's not our wedding anniversary."

"So?"

"You want to celebrate the day you continually hit me over the head with a frying pan?" Rapunzel winced.

"Sorry about that. And, yes, if you hadn't come to my tower, I never would have left, or met you, for that matter." Her cheeks flushed and Eugene smiled.

"Well, all right, Blondie. Just don't do anything drastic." Rapunzel's face lit up and she kissed him quickly.

"Thank you! And you won't be disappointed!" She hurried off and Eugene could only wonder what she was up to.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Rapunzel placed her hand on the doorknob to the library, turning it before Eugene could answer.

"Wait!" He said, holding up a hand. Rapunzel dropped her hand from the door and furrowed her brow.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not ready yet," Eugene replied, crossing his arms. Rapunzel frowned at him.

"Are you ready now?"

"Not yet." Rapunzel was getting antsy. She shifted from one foot to the other.

"How about now?" Eugene closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Don't rush me, Blondie. I'm mentally preparing."

"Eugene!" Eugene opened his eyes and looked down at a scowling Rapunzel. Smiling, he said,

"Okay. Now I'm ready." Rapunzel rolled her eyes and opened the door, pulling Eugene inside. All of the windows were tightly shut and the blinds pulled down over them.

"Ahhh… I forgot about that," Rapunzel whispered. She held onto Eugene and slowly started to walk over to the windows. "I hope I don't run into anything…" Rapunzel mumbled.

"Uh… Rapunzel?"

"Hmm?"

"What's going on?" Rapunzel continued to pull him toward the windows.

"It's a surprise. Okay, now close your eyes while I open the blinds." Eugene placed his hands over his eyes and Rapunzel pulled open one of the blinds. She continued down the wall, opening each blind.

"All right. Eugene, are you peeking?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Rapunzel grinned and led him to the center of the library.

"Okay, open your eyes!" Eugene lowered his hands and looked around, shocked. 

_He was in Rapunzel's tower._

"Rapunzel… why did… how…" He was amazed. She transformed the library to look exactly like her tower. Eugene was confused as to why she would want to do this. Rapunzel, however, was gleaming, watching Eugene.

"Do you like it?" Eugene struggled for the right words.

"Well, it's amazing what you did, but why did you want to recreate the tower? I thought you hated that place."

"I do. Besides the fact that it's where I met you. And that's why I did this. I thought about actually going back to the tower, but I figured it was best if we didn't." Eugene nodded and looked around again. He _had_ met Rapunzel in that tower; no matter how many times he was hit over the head with a frying pan. He turned around and faced Rapunzel, who was holding something behind her back. Eugene couldn't exactly see what it was, but she couldn't hide the whole thing behind her small figure.

"I got something for you," She said, smiling. She took a step toward Eugene and lifted the thing above her head.

"Rapunzel, what are you doing?" Eugene exclaimed, covering his head and ducking. Rapunzel burst out laughing. Eugene slowly looked up and saw Rapunzel holding her stomach in fits of laughter.

"Wha…? A frying pan?" She continued to laugh and the frying pan swung dangerously around. "Rapunzel!" Eugene stopped her and she tried to control her laughter.

"I'm… sorry… just… the face!" Eugene sighed.

"You got me… a frying pan?" Rapunzel nodded, handing him the pan.

"I figured you could use a new one. You know, maybe sharpen up your skills with Maximus?"

"Sharpen up my skills, huh?" Eugene asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. There's always room for improvement," Rapunzel said, challengingly.

"Hm…" Eugene swung the pan around in his hand. Without warning, Rapunzel threw her arms around his neck. "What…?" Eugene placed his free hand around Rapunzel's waist, awkwardly holding the frying pan by his side.

"Thank you for attempting to steal my would-be crown!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"Um… you're welcome." Rapunzel pressed her face into Eugene's shoulder.

"If you hadn't, I never would have met you, and I would still be locked up in my tower." Eugene didn't say anything, but also thanked himself for attempting to steal the crown. Rapunzel pulled back and bit her lip.

"Sorry…" She said softly. Eugene smiled and placed the frying pan on the ground.

"Don't be." Rapunzel beamed and hugged Eugene again.

"Happy anniversary, Eugene." Eugene kissed the top of her head.

"Happy anniversary. And for the record, Maximus is rotten at sword fighting."

"Is that so?" Rapunzel asked sarcastically, recalling how Maximus had beat Eugene last time.

"Yep." Rapunzel laughed.

"Then, for the record, you were _really_ hard to get into a closet.

"Hey, I was knocked out." Rapunzel smiled and squeezed Eugene. "But those bruises were completely worth it."

**You like? I hope you did. It would be fan-freakin-tastic if you reviewed. Just sayin. And I've been trying really hard to have good endings, but I'm awful at endings. Please let me know how I'm doing!**


	6. A Very Special Birthday

_Clink Clink Clink. _

Silence fell over the table. The Queen rose from her seat and everyone looked up at her.

"As we all know, tomorrow is a very special day," She said, smiling warmly at Eugene. Well… _Prince_ Eugene. Rapunzel squeezed his hand and beamed up at him; she was very big on birthdays.

"And I would like to say… thank you, Eugene. Without you, we wouldn't have our daughter here. To Eugene." She raised her glass and everyone followed suit.

"Eugene," They said, drinking from their glasses. Eugene awkwardly took a sip of his wine. He still wasn't used to people thanking him. The King stood up as well and said,

"Thank you all very much for joining us for this lovely dinner. Goodnight to you all." He smiled and everyone stood up and bowed to the two of them. They left silently and Rapunzel turned towards Eugene.

"Aren't you excited?"

"Well, you obviously are," Eugene replied, following the King and Queen out of the room.

"Eugene! It's your birthday and you should be excited. I want it to be a big day! Why aren't you excited?"

"Well, Blondie, I've gotten used to not celebrating my birthdays."

"_Well…_ You probably should now," Rapunzel answered. Eugene nodded in response. "I'll see you tomorrow," Rapunzel said, standing on her toes and kissing Eugene quickly before rushing off to their bedroom.

* * *

"Eugene, wake up!" Rapunzel sang loudly, opening the blinds. Eugene rolled over and curled up, blocking out the light. "Eugene, c'mon, get up!" After a few seconds silence, Eugene lifted his head.

"Happy birthday!" Rapunzel yelled. "Happy birthday, happy birthday!"

"Mmm… thanks…" Eugene said, rubbing his eyes. How was she so awake at this un-godly hour?

"Eugene! Honestly…" She yanked the covers off him and tried to get him to sit up. She shoved her hands under his back and began pulling him off the bed.

"Rapunzel… Rapunzel stop!" She pulled her hands back and Eugene leaned on his elbows.

"Did I already say thank you?"

"Kind of. But I think you were still asleep." Eugene sat up and stroked Rapunzel's cheek.

"Then, thank you." He pulled her gently towards him and pressed his lips against hers. Rapunzel complied, for a few seconds, anyway. She pushed away from him and exclaimed,

"Get dressed! We'll go get breakfast." She ran out of the room, leaving Eugene alone to his thoughts. His first real birthday celebration… might as well let Rapunzel have some fun with it. He pushed himself off the bed and got dressed. He made his way down to the dining hall, not knowing what to expect. He pushed the door open quietly, and saw Rapunzel and her parents sitting at the table. When the King and Queen saw him, they stood up and Rapunzel ran over to him.

"C'mon…" She whispered, pulling him to the table. The King placed a strong hand on Eugene's shoulder.

"Happy birthday, son," he said.

"_Son? He's never called me-"_

"Happy birthday, Eugene," The Queen said. He nodded and replied,

"Thank you." They all took their seats and ate a delicious breakfast.

* * *

As Eugene had expected, Rapunzel had many things planned for the day. He didn't complain about anything, but by the end of the day, he was exhausted. Collapsing on his bed, he sighed loudly. Just as he got comfortable, Rapunzel came bursting in.

"Eugene!" She saw him on the bed, "Eugene, what are you doing?"

"Resting." He felt Rapunzel sit down next to him.

"Long day, huh?" She asked, brushing hair out of his eyes. "Too long for Prince Eugene to handle?" That struck a cord.

"Hey," he said, sitting up, "_That_ was uncalled for." Rapunzel snickered, raising her hands in the air.

"I'm just speaking the truth."

"Obviously not. I'm not tired," Eugene said, defensively.

"Really?" Rapunzel asked, raising her eyebrows. "All right, then let's go. I have one more thing planned. I know you'll like it." Eugene stared at her for a long time.

"Oh, fine! Let's go." He jumped off the bed and pulled Rapunzel with him.

* * *

"Did you see that? Did you _see_ it?" Eugene asked, excitedly.

"Yes, Eugene, I saw," Rapunzel answered, pulling him along. She had blindfolded him, surprising him for her _real_ last event.

"That painting… my nose was perfect!" He laughed aloud, "Now, where are you taking me?"

"It's a secret." She opened a door and led him inside. "Okay, you ready?" He nodded. Rapunzel pulled the blindfold off his eyes. He was standing in their bedroom.

"Uh… Rapunzel…? She turned his head for him, towards the balcony. The doors were open and Eugene saw a table and two chairs. Hardly able to contain herself, Rapunzel dragged him onto the balcony.

"Ta dahh!" Rapunzel exclaimed. The table and chairs were covered with white fabric, and that was all that was on the balcony. It was so simple, but so special.

"Rapunzel… Thank you. Again," Eugene said, smiling. Rapunzel beamed at him and gestured for him to sit. Eugene saw Rapunzel looking at him expectantly.

"What?" He asked.

"So…?"

"So… what?" Rapunzel shook her head, laughing.

"How has this day been?"

"Well, technically, this day isn't over yet. So I can't answer," Eugene said.

"Yes you can."

"Mmm… Not quite, Blondie."

"Eugene." Rapunzel stared him down, obviously wanting to know if his day was perfect.

"All right! I've had a wonderful birthday." Rapunzel grinned and leaned forward on the table.

"I'm glad." Eugene laughed at how happy she was. One of the chefs from the kitchen walked onto the balcony with two plates in his hands. Silently, he placed the plates in front of Rapunzel and Eugene. He almost had a look of disgust on his face. When he placed the plates down, he wiped his hands on his apron. Eugene stared at him.

"Thank you," said Rapunzel, leaning back and observing the food. Eugene, suddenly, ravenous, already had his fork and knife in hand, ready to eat. The chef walked back inside, nose in the air, and Eugene began to eat. Rapunzel continued to smile and she began eating as well. Eugene chewed his food slowly, questioning the taste. Something definitely wasn't right. He looked up at Rapunzel, who was also chewing slowly.

"Does this," he swallowed, "taste a little funny to you?" Rapunzel nodded, holding back a smile. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I just…" She gestured at the food and looked at Eugene.

"You want to go to the Snuggly Duckling, don't you?" Rapunzel jumped up from the table.

"I thought you'd never ask!" She grabbed Eugene's hand and pulled him along with her.

**Woot :) I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but I hope you liked it! Don't forget to review!**


	7. Parents

Rapunzel was screaming. Eugene paced in front of their bedroom door, hands behind his back. Why wouldn't they let him in? It was his wife in there for goodness sake. Rapunzel suddenly let out her worst scream and Eugene pounded his fist on the door, turning the knob, but it was locked. Of course it was. Angry, Eugene hung his head and backed away from the door. He instantly began pacing again

"Eugene!" Rapunzel yelled. Eugene stopped walking. "No! No, I won't! I need Eugene!" Eugene pressed his ear against the door, wondering what was happening. Rapunzel continued to call for him, but he couldn't get in. He would break down the door if he had to. Suddenly, the door swung open and Eugene didn't even glance at who opened it. He flew past her and hurried over to Rapunzel's side. She was crying, tears streaming down her flushed face.

"Rapunzel, it's going to be okay. I'm here now," Eugene whispered to her, kissing her hand. He glanced around the room and saw her parents, huddled together in the corner, looking worried. Eugene tried to stay calm, but it wasn't easy.

"Rapunzel, you have to do it. I know that it hurts, but…" He trailed off, looking at the midwife, who was looking rather impatient.

"I can't… Eugene, I can't do it…" Rapunzel whimpered, beginning to cry again. Eugene brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Yes, yes you can, Rapunzel. I know you can." Rapunzel looked at him and squeezed his hand. She shut her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

"Are you ready?" The midwife asked. Rapunzel nodded. "Okay, then push!"

Immediately, another scream ripped through Rapunzel. She dug her fingernails into Eugene's hand. He continued to stroke her hair and whisper how it was going to be all right. Rapunzel kept on crying between her screams. Eugene's heart broke at the sight of her.

"Rapunzel, everything's going to be all right," Eugene whispered into her ear. He kissed her cheek and she caught her breath.

"One more!" The midwife yelled over Rapunzel's screams. Her parents walked forward, looking at Rapunzel, worried. Rapunzel used the last of her strength and everyone went silent over the cry of a baby. The midwife carried the child away to be cleaned.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel you did it!" Eugene was suddenly ecstatic. He had a child. He and Rapunzel had a child. Her parents were glowing as well. Her mother kissed her forehead and her father held her other hand. Rapunzel could barely keep her eyes open.

"I… I did it…" She smiled slightly.

"You did it," Eugene echoed, kissing her hand again.

"Where… where is our baby?" Rapunzel's parents immediately followed the midwife.

"Our baby will be here soon, don't worry," Eugene murmured, kissing Rapunzel yet again. "I'm so proud of you."

"I couldn't have done it without you," Rapunzel said ever so softly. Eugene smiled and replied,

"You should get some rest." Rapunzel shook her head.

"Not until I see our baby." As if on queue, the midwife wandered in the room, holding the little bundle. The King and Queen were right on her tail, looking extremely happy. The midwife walked over to Rapunzel and handed her the baby.

"A healthy little girl," She said as Rapunzel gingerly held the baby. They were both at a loss for words.

"A girl…" Rapunzel stroked the baby's face as she squirmed in her arms. Eugene didn't take his eyes off of her. He had a baby. And his baby was right here. Rapunzel was absolutely glowing.

"Eugene, we have a baby," She whispered. Eugene smiled and Rapunzel gestured for him to pick her up. He glanced at Rapunzel, who nodded, and he bent over and picked the child up. She was so… _tiny._ Eugene couldn't even believe how small she was. His hands were two times bigger than her whole body. Eugene was afraid that he would break her.

"She's beautiful." She had big, brown eyes that stared into Eugene's. They were _his_ eyes. She had thick, dark brown hair sprouting from the top of her head. That was _his_ hair.

"She takes after her father," Rapunzel said. Eugene stared at the squirming baby.

"Rapunzel? We have a baby," He repeated, excitedly. "We have a baby!" Eugene was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions. He had a baby. He had _a baby._ Rapunzel laughed and Eugene gave her the baby. She held the baby's hand and kissed it, softly. Rapunzel looked up at her parents, who appeared to have not stopped smiling. They walked over to her and Rapunzel handed the baby to her mother. They both stared at her, in awe.

"Rapunzel… she is beautiful. She's a beautiful baby," her mother said. She glanced at Eugene. "Takes after her father." Eugene laughed and looked at Rapunzel.

"We're parents," he said. Rapunzel smiled as Eugene kissed her forehead.

"We're parents," she echoed. The Queen gave the baby back to Rapunzel, and Rapunzel and Eugene stared at their child.

"You know what, Rapunzel?"

"What, Eugene?" Eugene rubbed his finger down the little girl's nose.

"Her nose is perfect." Rapunzel laughed and said,

"It's true. She does have a perfect nose." Eugene kissed Rapunzel and they looked at their baby, eager to start their new life as parents.

**This story makes me happy. I hope you enjoyed! And just so you know, having more than ten reviews made my morning :)**


	8. Cake and Icing

Rapunzel let out a little yelp as she managed to spill more flour all over herself. She sighed and tried to brush the flour off, but it didn't want to leave her dress. Returning to her bowl, she grabbed the spoon and began stirring, more carefully this time. She gripped the side of the bowl, trying as hard as she could to get the batter all mixed in. Satisfied, Rapunzel brushed her hands on her dress and dipped a finger in the batter.

"Tasty?"

"Mmm… yeah!" Rapunzel exclaimed, licking her finger. "Wait, what?" She whirled around and saw Eugene casually leaning against the door frame. "Eugene! What are you doing here?" She asked, trying to cover up the bowl.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering where you wandered off to," Eugene replied, examining his fingernails. "What'cha got over there?"

"Oh, um, it's nothing," Rapunzel said softly, backing up towards the counter. Eugene raised an eyebrow and tried to peer around her shoulder. "Eugene! Just… just go away for, like, thirty minutes, okay!" She stomped over to him and began to push him out of the room. Eugene laughed as she did so and left her alone to her cake batter.

Rapunzel returned to the kitchen and peered in her bowl. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she stirred it around once more and began to put it into the pans. Satisfied, she placed the pans in the oven, smiling to herself. She suddenly felt two arms snake around her waist.

"Eugene!" She yelled, trying to scramble free. "Eugene, you're not supposed to be here!" Eugene laughed and kissed her cheek.

"What on earth are you doing in here, Blondie?" Rapunzel stopped squirming and Eugene loosened his grip so she could face him.

"I _told_ you. Half an hour." Eugene looked at his wrist, pretending to check the time.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's already been ten minutes." Rapunzel grabbed his wrist and looked at his "watch."

"Well, as far as _I'm_ concerned, you might want to fix your watch. It's only been about three minutes. Honestly…" She turned him around and marched him out of the kitchen.

* * *

Rapunzel pulled the two cakes out of the oven and placed them on the counter. She breathed in the smell, feeling proud of herself. She heard footsteps creeping toward the kitchen.

"Don't!" she yelled, "Even think about it, Eugene."

"Darn!" he muttered to himself and walked off. Laughing to herself, Rapunzel stirred the icing, making sure it was still thick. With two rags in hand, she picked up one pan and started trying to get the cake out.

"Rapunzel, wait!" Eugene came bursting into the kitchen and Rapunzel looked at him, confused and surprised.

"Eugene! What did I say…?" She dropped the pan on the counter and placed her hands on her hips, facing Eugene. "What's wrong." It was said as more of a statement than a question.

"Okay, I'm sorry for ruining the surprise, but you have to let it cool." Eugene gestured toward the cake.

"What?" Rapunzel asked, annoyed.

"You… you have to let the cake cool before icing it."

"Oh. You weren't supposed to know about this."

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just… If you haven't noticed already… I really love cake." Rapunzel really wanted to stay annoyed at him, but how could she?

"Let it cool, huh?" she asked. Eugene nodded and Rapunzel let a smile creep along her face.

"Well, while it's cooling, you can help me clean up."

* * *

"You think it's ready?" Rapunzel asked. Eugene touched the pan, and then picked it up.

"It's not hot anymore," he confirmed. Rapunzel picked up the other pan and dumped the cake onto a separate plate. Eugene did the same as her and then picked up the bowl of icing.

"The best part," he said, grinning.

"Who knew that Eugene Fitzherbert would have a soft spot for cake?" Rapunzel said, teasing him. Eugene raised an eyebrow at her and began to ice the cake.

"C'mon, Blondie, _everyone_ loves cake." Rapunzel laughed and flicked some icing on his face. Eugene stopped icing the cake and turned towards Rapunzel. Smiling, he dipped his finger in the icing and flicked some on her. It landed on her dress and she gasped.

"Eugene!"

"Hey! You did it to me." Rapunzel laughed and nodded in agreement. She didn't expect Eugene to throw even more icing at her. Hitting her smack on the nose, she fell serious.

"Eugene, really?" He tried not to laugh, but when he did, he received a face full of icing. Rapunzel burst into a fit of giggles as a war of icing had broken out. Completely forgetting about the cake, Eugene and Rapunzel began throwing icing all over the place, trying to hit one another. Rapunzel made a mad dash for more icing and slipped on some spare icing on the floor. She sat up and rubbed her back as Eugene crouched next to her.

"You okay? That was some fall."

"It was, wasn't it?" Rapunzel looked up at Eugene and laughed, seeing him completely covered in icing. She glanced at herself and saw that she was also covered in icing. Eugene chuckled and sat down.

"Well, it's a good thing we cleaned up," he said, sarcastically, wiping icing off Rapunzel's face.

"Now I'm curious about how the cake tastes." Rapunzel stood up and she, carefully, made her way over to the cake. She grabbed a fork and scooped up a piece of cake. She wiped icing off her dress and placed it on her cake. Rapunzel smiled as she chewed her piece.

"Good?" Eugene asked.

"So good!" Eugene jumped up and ate a piece for himself.

"Oh my gosh. This is good," he said, licking his fork.

"I know!" Eugene pulled Rapunzel toward him, giving her a side hug. Rapunzel smiled and hugged him back, not worrying about the icing.

"Thanks for making the cake," Eugene said. He wiped more icing away from Rapunzel's face and she laughed softly.

"Anytime," Rapunzel replied, eating another piece of cake. She looked around the room and sighed. "Mother and Father are going to be _thrilled_ about this."

"Just give them some of this cake. To distract from the mess we made," Eugene suggested. "Seriously, this cake is excellent." He ate yet another piece.

"We should probably get cleaned up," Rapunzel said, walking to the sink. She rinsed her hands and face and Eugene decided it was best if he did the same. Rapunzel dried her face off and with her face finally clean, Eugene took this opportunity to kiss Rapunzel. He could feel Rapunzel smile and he stroked her cheek.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel asked, pulling back slightly. "You missed a spot." She wiped more icing onto his face. Eugene laughed and kissed Rapunzel once more, but he wiped his hands on the back of Rapunzel head, getting icing stuck in her hair.

"Hey, Blondie? You too."

**Hope you liked :) Sorry for the kinda late update… school has been taking over my life lately. Don't forget to review!**


	9. Princes and Princesses

Rapunzel twirled around in her big, fancy dress, laughing.

"Oh, that was so much fun!" Her very first ball had just ended and she wished it would start all over. Eugene, however, wasn't as thrilled.

"Eugene, stop moping! It was just a ball. Why are you so upset?" Rapunzel glided over to him and he watched her intently.

"Why am I upset? I'm sure that's very obvious." Rapunzel furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"No, not really." Eugene took a deep breath.

"Okay, well, it's like, every single guy… _prince_ that comes in here thinks he owns the place and acts like we aren't getting married, and really, you're my fiancée, wouldn't they know better? How would they like it if I went up to their fiancée, lucky if they ever get one, and fawn over here? No, I didn't think so," Eugene ranted. He was out of breath, but Rapunzel smiled.

"Done?" Eugene closes his eyes and nodded. "Good." Rapunzel stood on her toes and kissed him. "You know I don't like any of those other princes, right? I just ignore them."

"That's easy for you to say," Eugene said, trying to calm down.

"Eugene, stop. All this ranting about princes, and I'm surprised you didn't notice the princesses, watching _you._" Eugene opened his eyes and Rapunzel held onto his arm and pulled him out of the ballroom.

"What?" Rapunzel laughed and squeezed his hand.

"See? Exactly."

"They were watching me?" Rapunzel nodded.

"Oh, yeah. They were practically _swooning._" Eugene didn't say anything. "I didn't get bothered by it. You want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I know you're mine." Rapunzel stopped walking and faced Eugene. He smiled and stroked her cheek.

"And you're mine. And you always will be."

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**Well, that was short. Ah, well, I like it! I wrote this yesterday and I was in a ranting mood, so I made Eugene rant. Hope you liked!**


	10. Dreams

"Rapunzel… it's your turn…" Eugene groaned, pulling the covers over his head.

"No, dear, I believe it is yours." Eugene lay there for a few minutes, listening to his child crying. Rapunzel wasn't getting up, so he reluctantly threw the covers off him and sat up. Rubbing his eyes, he got out of bed and opened their bedroom door, to see his daughter standing there, crying.

"Annika…? How did you-" She threw herself at Eugene's legs and Rapunzel asked,

"What's going on?" Eugene picked Annika up and carried her to the bed.

"Well, it seems Anni has figured out how to get out of her crib." Rapunzel rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed.

"What's wrong Anni?" The child wrapped her arms around Eugene's neck and buried her face into his shoulder. She had calmed down slightly, although she continued to cry.

"Probably a bad dream," Eugene said, stroking Annika's hair.

"Anni, would you like to sleep here tonight?" Rapunzel asked, placing her hand on her daughter's back. Annika lifted her head and nodded.

"I'll go get her blankets." Eugene placed Annika on the bed and left the room. On his way back, he ran into Lily.

"Dad? What are you doing?"

"I think the better question is, what are you doing, sweetheart?" Eugene brushed hair out of the child's eyes. "It's very late."

"Bad dream."

"Your sister had one too, I believe. Care to join?" Eugene asked, lifting up the blankets. Lily nodded and followed him to their bedroom.

"I found someone else to join us tonight, Rapunzel," Eugene said, walking into the room. Lily climbed into bed and hugged her mother.

"Lils, what's wrong?"

"Bad dream." Rapunzel brushed Lily's hair with her fingers.

"It's okay, darling. You're awake now." Eugene lifted Annika from the bed and placed the blankets there. The two children could barely keep their eyes open.

"All right, girls, I believe it is time for bed."

"I'm not," Lily yawned, "I'm not tired." Rapunzel laughed.

"Yes, I think you are." Eugene crawled into bed and pulled the covers over him and Annika. Rapunzel gently pushed Lily away from her so she could grab the covers.

"Mom?" Lily whispered. It seemed Eugene and Annika had already fallen asleep.

"Yes, Lils?" Rapunzel pulled the blankets up to her chin and Lily rested her head on Rapunzel's shoulder.

"Do you ever have bad dreams?"

"Yes, dear, everyone does," Rapunzel replied, resting her head gently on top of Lily's.

"Do they ever go away?"

"I wish I could say yes, but no. Bad dreams will come and go. This doesn't mean that you'll have one every night, but you will have more of them." Lily frowned. "But you know what the best part is?"

"What?"

"You can wake up from them. And once you do, you can forget about them." Lily smiled a little and yawned once again. "Okay Lils, it's time for bed." Lily shut her eyes and Rapunzel kissed the top of her head, closing her eyes as well. She felt someone hold her hand and she expected it to be Lily, but it was Eugene. So he was awake after all. He was smiling at her. He raised her hand and kissed it gently.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

"Goodnight," Rapunzel replied. She looked down at her children, and then at her husband, and felt a surge of joy run through her body. She sank down further into the covers and drifted off into a sleep filled with good dreams.

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**Okay, so there might be some confusion about the twins and the one child thingy, but pretend the twin story didn't exist…! It's there, but I don't think I'll ever write about their twins. Maybe. Maybe not. So, yes, Lily is the daughter from chapter 7. These technically aren't supposed to be related, but I had to write about their children! And don't forget to root for Tangled tonight at the Oscars! Or to review :)**


	11. Snowballs and Snow Angels

**Tangled should have won. I'm depressed. **

**Anyway… I had to write another family story to make myself happy…er… from the results last night. Hope you enjoy!**

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"Mommy, Daddy, get up! It's Christmas!" Annika sprinted out of the room to wake up her sibling.

"Eugene… what's the time?" Rapunzel whispered.

"Four in the morning," Eugene answered with a sigh. Rapunzel rolled over and squeezed her husband's hand.

"I'll go put them back to bed." Eugene grunted in response as Rapunzel went to chase her daughter.

"Annika! Anni, stop making so much noise!" Rapunzel swept Annika, who was still laughing and shouting, off the floor. "Anni, shh… yes, merry Christmas." Rapunzel headed for the girl's room.

"Mommy, what are you doing?"

"Putting you back to bed." Annika kicked her arms and legs, protesting.

"No! Presents!"

"Annika May Fitzherbert, stop kicking!" Annika immediately stopped at the sound of her full name. Rapunzel leaned over her bed and placed Annika down. She crossed her arms and frowned.

"Six o'clock, okay? Love you," Rapunzel said, kissing the top of Annika's head. She shut the door quietly and ran into Eugene as she made her way back to her room.

"What are you doing up?"

"Lily just came in. She heard Annika before." Half asleep, Rapunzel closed the door and crawled into bed.

"You got her to sleep?"

"Told her I'd take away all their presents if she didn't." Rapunzel smacked his arm.

"Eugene!"

"What? It's four in the stinkin' morning, Rapunzel." Rapunzel didn't argue. Shivering, she slid over, closer to Eugene. He was nearly asleep, but he wrapped his arm around Rapunzel. She smiled and the two of them fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Daddy… get… up!" Lily tugged on her father's arm.

"Mommy, wake Daddy up!" Annika jumped up and down as Rapunzel sat up.

"Morning, girls. Lily, stop pulling your father's arm." Lily reluctantly stopped.

"Mom, it's six fifteen!" Rapunzel leaned over Eugene.

"Time to get up, dear." Eugene groaned and opened his eyes.

"He's up! Anni, he's up!" The children jumped onto the bed and hugged Eugene.

"Morning. Merry Christmas." Eugene hugged his girls back and then they ran out of the room yelling,

"Presents, presents!"

"Guess we better get down there before they wake the whole castle up," Eugene said, slowly sitting up.

"Too late for that, I believe." The King and Queen appeared at their bedroom door.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry! We didn't mean to wake anyone up," Rapunzel said, walking to her parents.

"It's fine. Kids will be kids," the Queen responded with a smile.

"How are you doing over there, Eugene?" the King asked, laughing.

"Wonderful," Eugene replied, standing up.

"Mom! Dad! Are you coming or what?" Lily yelled up the stairs.

"Yes, Lils, we're coming."

* * *

The day slowly passed by, and Eugene could barely keep his eyes open.

"Daddy, we're gonna go outside with Mommy. Wanna come?" Lily asked, pulling on his sleeve. He looked down at his daughter, whose lower lip was beginning to stick out slightly, and her eyes were wide open.

"Your mother taught you that one, didn't she? All right, I'll come." Lily grinned and ran off to Rapunzel.

"Dad, I'm going to kick your butt in our snowball fight," Annika told him confidently.

"Is that so? Well, your mother can be the judge of that." Eugene patted her head and the family walked outside.

"Mom, it's snowing!" Lily exclaimed, scooping up a handful of snow. The girls shrieked with laughter as they chased each other around. Eugene placed his arm around Rapunzel's shoulders and said,

"I know you taught Lils that look."

"Well, it does get you every time," Rapunzel replied, smiling.

"Mom, look! I made a snow angel!" Annika yelled, pointing at the ground.

"Yeah, it's very nice Anni!" Rapunzel looked at Eugene and gestured for them to join their children. "I know you don't like snow, but we should join them." Rapunzel made the same face Lily had and Eugene couldn't say no.

"Oh, fine! I really need to stop doing that." Rapunzel laughed and Eugene kissed her cheek. He was not expecting to get a face full of snow. He whirled around and saw Lily standing behind him, looking innocent. Wiping the snow off his face, he bent over and scooped up more snow.

"Two can play at that game." He threw the snow at Lily and hit her square in the chest.

"Daddy!" She squealed, grabbing more snow. Rapunzel had run off with Annika, most likely to stock up on snowballs. Eugene and Lily threw snowballs back and forth, hitting each other nearly every time.

"How did you get such good aim?" Eugene shouted as he barely missed a snowball. Lily continued to laugh and throw snowballs without stopping.

"Lily! Come here!" Rapunzel yelled from behind Eugene. Eugene looked behind him and saw that Rapunzel and Annika had made a fort. "Let's have a real snowball fight!"

"Boys against girls!" Annika shouted as Lily ran towards them.

"What? That's not fair!" Eugene exclaimed, even though his girls began throwing snowballs like crazy. He threw himself at the ground and began throwing snowballs back.

"C'mon Eugene, you can throw better than that!" Rapunzel yelled at him.

"You three can stop throwing so well whenever you like!" Eugene began crawling towards the snow fort, planning his attack. Lily and Annika were not even able to speak because they were laughing so hard.

"Anni, c'mon! We can beat your father!" Eugene was slowly making his way to the fort, and the snowballs had stopped flying so quickly.

"Girls, hurry up! We need more snowballs!" Rapunzel said.

"Mommy, do you think we beat Dad?"

"Dear, I _know_ we beat Dad."

"Why did he stop throwing snowballs?" Lily peered over the top of the fort and Eugene jumped at her. She shrieked as Eugene pulled her to the ground.

"Daddy!"

"I've got you now!" Eugene said, laughing. Annika suddenly jumped onto Eugene as well. Eugene held each daughter in one arm and they calmed down.

"Daddy, we totally won," Annika said. Rapunzel walked over to her family and lay down next to them.

"I don't think so."

"Dad, what are you talking about? We kicked your butt."

"Hey, it was three against one. Not fair."

"Eugene, we beat you," Rapunzel added. The four of them lay on the ground, completely exhausted.

"Hey, girls?"

"What?" Annika and Lily asked at the same time.

"We're _definitely_ having a rematch tomorrow." They all laughed.

"Will you beat us then, Daddy?" Annika asked.

"Oh, for sure, Anni."

"Okay, girls, time to head back in. It's almost dinner time," Rapunzel said, much to the children's dismay.

"No… Mommy… just five more minutes…"

"Oh, all right, fine. But, _five_ minutes, okay?" Lily leapt up and exclaimed,

"Let's all make snow angels! Daddy, you go first, cause you're the tallest." Annika crawled off Eugene and he made his snow angel.

"Daddy, you look so pretty as an angel!" Annika yelled when he finished.

"Well, thank you, sweetie."

"Okay, now Mommy, you go next." Rapunzel lay on the ground and made her snow angel as well.

"How'd I do?" She asked.

"Well, let's just say you make excellent snow angels," Eugene replied, kissing Rapunzel's cheek.

"Now I'll go…" Lily slowly made her snow angel. "I want it to be perfect! Okay, Anni, now you go." Annika made hers and slowly stood up, trying not to ruin it.

"There we are," Eugene said smiling. He placed his hands on his children's shoulders and Rapunzel wrapped her arm around his waist. They all stared, smiling down at their snow angels.

"Daddy? Your snow angel is weird," Lily said, observing his.

"Thank you, Lils." She smiled up at him.

"All right girls, time to go in," Rapunzel said, not wanting to go in herself.

"Okay…" They headed back for the castle and Rapunzel took one last glance at the snow angels, not wanting this day to end. She looked back at her children, and her husband, not wanting this perfect day to end.

* * *

**There you have it! This story makes me happy, despite my depression about Tangled not winning… :( Well, I hope you enjoyed it too!**

**Update: Changed the last sentence. Felt like I should let y'all know :D  
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	12. Love

**Over thirty reviews? I love you guys! Thank you so much for sticking with me!**

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"Well, today has been an excellent day," Rapunzel stated, flopping down on the couch next to Eugene. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"I _did_ successfully get you back to your parents…" Eugene replied, grinning.

"I don't think I can thank you enough for that."

"No worries Blondie, you don't have to." Eugene pulled Rapunzel towards him and kissed her cheek. Rapunzel curled up and rested her head on Eugene's chest. He absently stroked her hair.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel whispered.

"Yeah?" Rapunzel fumbled with a spare thread on Eugene's vest.

"Do you think… that Mot… _she's_ really gone?"

"Rapunzel, I know she's gone. She can't hurt you anymore," Eugene murmured, resting his chin on top of Rapunzel's head. Rapunzel closed her eyes, smiling.

"Not when I've got you here, right?"

"Of course," Eugene said, chuckling. Eugene looked down at Rapunzel, who was still smiling to herself. He never thought in a million years that he would have ever met someone like her. He was expecting to be independent and alone for the rest of his life… or Flynn was. He knew on her birthday that he was in love, and he was slightly scared by that feeling. What if he hurt her in any way? Rapunzel sighed, pulling Eugene away from his thoughts.

"Rapunzel? I'm pretty sure that I'm completely in love with you," Eugene said suddenly. Rapunzel's heart skipped a beat.

In love?

He was in love?

Was she in love?

Of course she was.

Was she?

Rapunzel was also frightened by her feelings, but she suddenly knew that she was absolutely in love with Eugene.

"I love you too, Eugene." Rapunzel looked up at a smiling Eugene. She grinned back at him and pulled him closer to her, closing the gap between them. Eugene wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pulling her body even closer to his. He cupped his hand around the back of Rapunzel's neck and rubbed his thumb across her cheek. When he was with her, everything felt… _right._ He didn't have to be anyone but himself. He didn't need to be Flynn… he could be Eugene. And he loved leaving Flynn behind. Rapunzel pulled away from him slightly and rested her forehead against his.

"I love you," she whispered, despite having said it moments before.

"I love you, too," Eugene responded, staring into her bright green eyes. She smiled at him and lowered her head onto his shoulder. Eugene squeezed her tight and thought to himself,

"_Who said love had to be a bad thing?"_

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**I just **_**had **_**to write a super mushy one! Hope you liked :) Don't forget to review… o.O**


	13. Thoughts

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation."

"Ah. We wouldn't want that," Rapunzel replied sarcastically.

"Well a fake reputation is all a man has." She giggled to herself and looked up at me with those big, green eyes. I smiled back at her and then felt something strange in the pit of my stomach. She continued to stare at me and I cleared my throat.

"Well, I should, uh…" I stood up from the log and began backing away. "I-I should get some more firewood." Careful not to step on her hair, _her glowing hair_, I headed towards the woods, when she stopped me.

"Hey. For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Rider." Really...?

"Well, then you'd be the first, but thank you." She smiled again as I turned around and headed into the forest.

Well. _That_ was interesting.

I was mildly confused about what just went on back there. I just told Rapunzel something that not many people knew. Mostly no one knew.

I'm Flynn Rider for crying out loud! Or… Eugene Fitzherbert. But Flynn didn't do the whole… _love_ thing.

Love? Who said anything about love?

I leaned against a tree and rubbed my temples. What was happening to me? I just have to get Rapunzel to the kingdom so I can get back that crown. But… how often did you meet someone like Rapunzel? She's funny, smart (despite being locked away in a tower her whole life), sweet…

Stop! What's going on? Why can't I just admit to myself that I'm falling in love?

Gah, that word again! I'm not in love. I barely know the girl.

Frustrated with my thoughts, I scooped up some spare tree branches lying around and headed back for our camp.

"So...! Hey, can I ask you something? Is there any chance that I'm going to get super strength in my hand? Because I'm not going to lie, that would be stupendous," I said randomly, trying to distract me from my thoughts. Though, it _would_ be stupendous. I saw Rapunzel standing, back towards me, hanging her head. "Hey, you all right?" She turned around suddenly, looking surprised to see me.

"Oh. Sorry, yes. Just… lost in thought I guess." Seemed plausible.

"I mean because here's the thing. Superhuman good looks, I've always had them. Born with it!" I continued to ramble on, trying to ignore my thoughts, but this single thought didn't want to leave my mind.

"_You're in love."_

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**Okay. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. And I'm pretty sure I didn't capture Eugene's character as well as I could have. So let me know! I always thought that Eugene would know he was in love, but he wouldn't want to admit it. Don't forget to review!**


	14. Apologies

It was the day after Eugene had returned Rapunzel to her parents, and she wasn't doing so well.

"Rapunzel?" Eugene asked softly, knocking on her door.

She'd been locked in there all day. The King and Queen tried to talk to her, but they didn't really know what to do. Rapunzel wouldn't let them in anyway. Eugene heard a sniffle and knocked again.

"Rapunzel, why can't I come in?" She didn't say anything. "Okay, I'm just coming in then." Eugene expected the door to be locked, but it opened, and he saw Rapunzel sitting on her bed.

"Eugene, please, just… leave me alone for now," she whimpered, tugging at her short hair.

"Rapunzel, is this about your hair?" Eugene slowly walked towards her and she snapped her head up.

"Eugene! I just want to be alone." Not listening, Eugene sat next to her.

"I said I was sorry about your hair." He reached out to tuck some behind her ear when she jerked her head away and jumped up.

"I'm having a bad day! Don't try and make me feel better! It's not about my hair. I just… I didn't want all of this!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

"What do you mean you didn't want all this? All you wanted was to find your real parents, and hey, we did that," Eugene said, frustrated.

"No, you don't understand! You don't know how I feel."

"_I_ don't know how you feel? Rapunzel, sometimes I could just…" He rose from the bed and walked to the opposite side of the room, trying to calm himself down.

"No, Eugene, you don't!" Rapunzel shouted. "Imagine living with someone who you thought was your mother for your whole life! And then you find out she's not-"

"I never knew my parents!" Eugene yelled back. Rapunzel blinked and caught her breath. She walked towards him and reached out an arm.

"Eugene… I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"No, Rapunzel! You never hear me moping about my parents, do you?" Rapunzel winced as he turned towards the door. "I don't know what more you expect of me." With one last glance at Rapunzel, he stormed out of the room.

* * *

I almost slammed the door, but thought better of it. I released the door knob and stomped towards my room. Angry, frustrated, and annoyed, I flung myself onto my bed. How could Rapunzel be so dense? Complaining about her parents when I never even knew mine. Sometimes she could be so…

Sitting up, I held my head in my hands.

What had I just done?

Sure, she was being irrational, but I had lost it back there. Yes, I was angry, but since when did that mean I should yell and shout? I had the urge to go right back to Rapunzel and just hold her and say I was sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

* * *

He paused before he was about to slam the door shut and just left it open. I felt the tears well up in my eyes. They spilled over and I fell onto my bed. I didn't want to feel angry, but I couldn't help it. He didn't have to scream at me. Though, I was being pretty stupid. But he had to go and make things worse! Why couldn't he just talk about it?

I wiped the tears away and hesitantly rose from the bed. I knew that I should go see, and try to talk to, Eugene.

* * *

"Eugene?" Rapunzel asked, barely whispering. He was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Eugene, I wanted to say…" She paused, not wanting to push it. Eugene didn't acknowledge that she was there, so she continued.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm having a bad day and I shouldn't have said any of those things back there. So… sorry." Rapunzel began to walk out of the room when Eugene finally spoke.

"Me too." Rapunzel stopped and turned toward him again.

"What?" His eyes slid over to hers.

"I'm sorry." Rapunzel didn't say anything as Eugene sat up. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." A smile crept its way along Rapunzel's lips, but she suppressed it. She took careful steps toward him, and sat next to him. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said,

"I'm sorry for being so dumb. I shouldn't have said anything." Eugene pulled Rapunzel closer to him and stroked her hair.

"No, it was my fault. I'm sorry." Rapunzel was about to object, but she decided not too.

"And so you know, I love my hair." Eugene grinned and kissed her softly. "So… our first fight, huh?" Eugene laughed.

"Well, yeah. Let's try and keep that count to a minimum, shall we?" Rapunzel giggled and nodded. "Your parents probably want to know that you're still alive."

"Oh!" Rapunzel jumped up. "I should go see them! Come with me?" Rapunzel added, grabbing his hand. Eugene rolled his eyes.

"Nothing I'd rather to do more, Blondie."

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**Ahh… I apologize for such an angsty chapter. It was going to be longer, but there was too much angst! Anyway, hoped you enjoyed. I'll be sure to put up a fluffier one next time XD**


	15. Stories

"Daddy, will you tell me a story?"

"It's very late, dear." Lily pouted at her father and turned to her mother.

"Will you read me a story, Mommy?" Rapunzel was lying on the bed, nearly asleep.

"Ask your father," she mumbled. Eugene laughed as Lily crawled into his lap.

"Hey, I'll even make up my own story." Lily grinned and curled up to Eugene. "Once upon a time, there was a girl named… named Eleanor."

"Laura."

"What?"

"I like the name Laura better." Eugene laughed softly and kissed Lily's forehead.

"Okay. Once upon a time, there was a girl named Laura She was a very pretty girl, and everyone in her village liked her. One day-"

"Everyone?"

"Well, mostly everyone. Unfortunately, an old lady in the village did not like Laura. Jealous of all her attention, she stole Laura one night."

"No!" Eugene glanced at Rapunzel to see if she was catching on, but she kept her eyes shut.

"Yes, it was dreadful. The old lady took the child as her own and locked her into a… shed on the outskirts of the village."

"Daddy, I don't like this story," Lily said quietly.

"Don't worry, it gets better." Eugene felt Rapunzel squeeze his hand. He looked at her and she smiled at him. He returned her smile and continued.

"The old lady kept Laura in the shed for many years, and her hair grew to enormous lengths."

"How long was it?"

"Hmm…" Eugene looked back at Rapunzel, who mouthed,

"_Seventy feet."_

"She had seventy feet of hair by the time she was eighteen."

"Seventy feet! How did she manage all that?"

"That is a very good question, Lils. Anyway, the old lady raised the child and Laura believed she was her real mother."

"Laura thinks the old lady is her mother? Daddy, I _really _don't like this story."

"Lils, it gets better, trust me. Once Laura became older, she wanted to leave the shed and go to the village. One day, the old lady left to go get some more food. Laura thought about leaving, but she couldn't get herself to leave her mother. Fortunately, Laura didn't have to wait much longer. A young man, a _handsome_ young man, came across the shed. He was curious, so he climbed to the top of the shed."

"What's his name?"

"You tell me." Lily thought for a moment.

"Henry. His name is Henry."

"Okay… _Henry_ climbed to the top of the shed and looked through the top. He didn't see anything so he jumped into the shed."

"Wouldn't the old lady make it really hard to get in?" Rapunzel laughed.

"_Shh…_ Laura was scared by Henry, so she repeatedly hit him over the head with a frying pan."

"Daddy!" Lily giggled.

"Sorry! Sorry, Henry finally came around and Laura was very taken by his good looks." Rapunzel snorted, although Laura was listening very carefully.

"What happened?"

"Well, Henry showed Laura his smolder and Laura instantly fell in love with him. He took Laura back with him to the village and everyone was happy because Laura had returned. Henry and Laura eventually got married because she simply could not resist him. The end." Rapunzel tried her best not to burst into laughter, but Lily looked confused.

"What's the smolder?" Eugene gave his daughter the best smolder he possible could… and she laughed.

"Laura fell in love with _that?_ You're funny, Daddy." Eugene laughed along with his daughter and wife.

"What can I say? It works every time."

* * *

**Apologies galore for the long update! Sorry sorry sorry. I typed this story up in school today… I was procrastinating and decided I didn't want to type up my English paper. Anyway, the long update can be blamed for my new story *hint hint* It's my first full length Tangled story *nudge nudge* You should check it out *wink wink***


	16. Sunrise

"Eugene. Eugene!" Was that… Rapunzel?

"Mmm… huh, what?" Eugene rolled over and faced Rapunzel. "Rapunzel, what time is it?"

"I want to watch the sunrise." Sunrise? Sun_rise_?

"Blondie, if the sun isn't up, it's too early." Eugene closed his eyes, but wasn't surprised when Rapunzel poked him.

"Eugene," she whispered, "Please?" Eugene lifted open an eye.

"Oh, all right. But I'm going back to bed when it's over." Eugene threw he sheets off him and grabbed a sweater.

"You're not going to be cold?" he asked, looking at Rapunzel wearing only her pajamas. She frowned and grabbed the sweater Eugene was holding.

"Not anymore," she said with a smirk. Eugene raised his eyebrows and grabbed another sweater.

"Good one, Blondie." He quietly opened the door and they snuck outside the castle.

* * *

Rapunzel lay down in the grass and spread her arms.

"Think this is a good spot?" Eugene yawned.

"I suppose." He pulled his sweater over his head and sat next to Rapunzel. "How come you want to watch the sunrise?"

"I've never seen it before."

"You've never seen the sunrise?"

"That's what I said," she remarked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Well, I was locked in a tower in the middle of a valley for my whole life." Rapunzel shivered in the brisk air and sat up, pulling on her sweater. She scooted over to Eugene and plopped herself in his lap.

"Don't fall asleep," she warned.

"Don't worry." Eugene pulled Rapunzel against him and she curled up to him.

"Eugene?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Eugene played with a piece of Rapunzel's hair. A sudden wind blew past them and Rapunzel snuggled closer to Eugene.

"Do you… do you think I'm pretty?" Eugene almost had to laugh.

"Do I think you're pretty? Rapunzel, you're beautiful. What makes you ask?"

"Mother… she never used to tell me anything good about myself. I wanted to know if someone saw something in me."

"Rapunzel, you're beautiful, funny, smart, sweet, insanely handsome-wait, that's me-gorgeous… would you like me to continue?" Rapunzel blushed and giggled.

"I think I'm good. Thank you. And so you know, you are pretty handsome." Eugene smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you for clarifying, Rapunzel." Eugene glanced up and saw the sun peeking its way above the horizon. "Here's your sunrise." Rapunzel whipped around and stared at the sky. The sun slowly made its way above the horizon and the sky turned to a bright yellow. Rapunzel's lips turned up into a smile as the light passed over her face. Oranges mixed in with the yellows, and the sky looked absolutely magnificent.

"It's… it's beautiful," Rapunzel whispered.

"Much like yourself," Eugene added. Rapunzel turned towards him, smiling.

"Thank you." She hugged him tightly before looking back at the sky.

"Hey, Blondie? I don't want to ruin the moment or anything, but can I go back to bed?" Rapunzel laughed.

"I did wake you up, didn't I?" Eugene nodded. Rapunzel stood up and brushed herself off. "Well, all right. You can go back to bed. But I'm awake."

"Why are you such a morning person?" Eugene asked, standing up. Rapunzel shrugged.

"Why are you not such a morning person?"

"Good question." Eugene put his arm around Rapunzel's shoulders and they headed back for the castle. Rapunzel looked back once more at the sunrise and Eugene, and smiled to herself, feeling as beautiful as the sun.

* * *

**Wow, super cheesy, right? Haha oh well XD **

**Story time! So I was sitting on the bus home from school today, right? And it was raining for the first time in forever! I was listening to good ol' When Will My Life Begin (Reprise 2) and as soon as I stepped off the bus, in the rain, Rapunzel first touched the ground! In the song, at least. It made me happy. I wanted to burst out into song and skip all the way home. Anyway, I digress. Hope you enjoyed!**


	17. Growing Up

**Over fifty reviews? I could seriously marry all of you. But that is called polygamy, my dear children, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies.**

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Eugene, Rapunzel, and Lily all woke abruptly to the sound of Annika pounding on the door. Lily sighed and snuggled closer to her father, not enjoying being woken up again.

"_Helloo-oo_?" Annika yelled at them, bursting into the room. "C'mon guys, get up! It's my birthday!" She stuck her hands on her hips and stared at her sleeping family. When nobody said anything back to her, she jumped on the bed and shook them all until they reluctantly opened their eyes.

"Anni, what are you-"

"Dear, what time is it?" Rapunzel asked.

"It's seven in the morning," Annika replied proudly, "I waited." Rapunzel sat up and pulled her little girl into her lap.

"Happy birthday, Anni." The child beamed up at her and hugged her tightly. Eugene followed suit and sat up as well. Rubbing his eyes, he said with as much enthusiasm as he could,

"Happy birthday, Anni! How old are you now, fourteen?" Annika giggled and shook her head.

"No! Daddy, I'm seven years old."

"Ah, right. I seem to have lost my sense of time." Lily rolled around between Rapunzel and Eugene, trying to block out their voices.

"Lily, it's time to get up," Rapunzel said, slightly pulling back the covers. Lily groaned and rolled onto her stomach. "She reminds me of you, dear." Eugene smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Morning is the worst time of day. Okay Lily, really, it's time to get up." When Lily didn't comply, Eugene reached down to her and used both hands to tickle her stomach. She lurched to the side, laughing and trying to push Eugene off her. Rapunzel and Annika sat, watching, and laughing along.

"Daddy-stop!" Lily yelled through her fits of laughter. Eugene let go of his daughter and she sat up, clutching her side. "That was not very nice," she said, glaring at Eugene.

"Hey, your mother can back me up on this one, but I'm an awesome tickler. And it _is_ time to get up."

"Yeah, Lils, it's my birthday!" Annika added.

"Mmm… happy birthday Anni. You only told me about six times this morning." Lily rubbed her eyes, remembering how many times Annika had woken her before she went to her parents.

"All right, everyone get dressed and we'll head down for breakfast, okay?" Annika slid off the bed and ran to her room without another word. Lily watched her sister leave and once she was gone, she fell back on her pillow.

"Eugene, she's worse than you." Eugene raised an eyebrow at Rapunzel and then warned Lily,

"Don't make me tickle you again." She jerked upright and pointed a finger at Eugene.

"Don't even think about it." Eugene put his hands in the air, reassuring her that he wouldn't.  
"You guys, come _on_! What's taking so long?" Annika appeared at the door, fully dressed and ready to go.

"Anni, five minutes, okay? Lily, go get dressed," Rapunzel said as Annika pouted at her. Lily reluctantly got off the bed and slowly made her way to her room. Annika followed her eagerly and Rapunzel stepped off the bed.

"C'mon Eugene, we shouldn't leave her waiting any longer than we already have." Eugene was shaking his head, saying,

"_Seven_? Gosh, where did the time go?" Rapunzel smiled and walked to the other side of the bed, sitting next to Eugene.

"Seems like just yesterday she was saying her first word, right?" Rapunzel asked, brushing some hair from Eugene's eyes.

"Yeah, and now she's seven and it's like-"

"Okay, really?" Annika said impatiently, glaring at her parents. They leapt off the bed and began grabbing clothes without a second thought.

"One minute!" Eugene said, quickly shutting the door in Annika's face.

* * *

"Mommy, Mommy, when do we get to go to the marketplace?" Annika asked Rapunzel, grabbing her hand as they left the dining room.

"Anni, we just finished breakfast. Be patient, dear." Annika tugged on Rapunzel's hand, obviously not feeling patient today.

"But _Mom_..."

"Annika, you'll have to wait until lunchtime, okay?" Rapunzel crouched down in front of her daughter. "Don't worry, sweetie. It will come, okay?" Rapunzel said, smiling, "We will have the celebration in the marketplace, and we will release seven lanterns, okay? Wow, seven this year, huh?" Rapunzel stood back up and led Annika back upstairs.

"Mmhhm!" Annika said, grinning.

"Mom, do I get to release one?" Lily asked, running up behind them.

"That's up to your sister, dear." Lily looked at Annika, hopeful.

"Well… I suppose you could release _one_…"

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Lily shouted, jumping up and down. "I love those lanterns! I remember when I first saw them," she said, raising her head high in the air.

"Do you, Lils?" She nodded.

"Do you remember when you first saw them, Mom?" Rapunzel stopped walking for a moment, before continuing quickly by the strange looks her daughter's were giving her. She must have known that they would eventually want to know about her childhood? The question had caught her off guard.

"I do remember when I first saw them. But I didn't see them up close until I was eighteen. That's when I met your father." Lily and Annika looked up at Rapunzel, mouths wide open.

"You met Daddy when you first saw the lanterns? Hey, Anni, maybe you'll meet your future husband tonight!" Lily said, laughing. Annika blushed and smacked her sister's arm.

"Don't tell your father this but-"

"Don't tell me what?" Eugene asked coming up behind them and placing his arms on Rapunzel's and Lily's shoulders.

"Oh, nothing, dear," Rapunzel replied, patting his cheek, "Lily just asked when if I remembered when I first saw the lanterns." Eugene's eyes widened slightly, but then he relaxed, squeezing Rapunzel's shoulder.

"Is that so? If only I could remember when I first saw them…" Eugene scratched his beard.

"You don't remember?" Annika asked.

"Not exactly. I remember which ceremony was my favorite though." Rapunzel smiled at Eugene and slightly pushed the girls in front of her, standing still.

"Go on, girls. Your father and I need to talk to Grandma and Grandpa about the ceremony, okay?"

"Okay!" Annika yelled and bolted off to her room. Lily followed quickly and Rapunzel faced Eugene.

"Let's go, dear. I don't think Annika would ever forgive us if this celebration doesn't meet her expectations." Eugene pulled Rapunzel toward him and kissed her forehead.

"No, probably not. And you know that girl's expectations…"

* * *

Annika held tightly onto her father's hand as he pulled her down the steps of the castle and into the marketplace. People were everywhere and she didn't want to get lost; she still didn't quite know her way around the marketplace. Everyone was wishing her a happy birthday and she smiled at them and thanked them.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Eugene pulled her through a crowd of people and they ended up in the center of the marketplace. A small band was playing a quick and catchy song and Annika felt the need to dance.

"I thought maybe you wanted to dance a little," Eugene said over his shoulder. Annika and Eugene ended up in the middle of a group of people, who were all clapping to the beat and urging them to dance. Eugene took both of his daughter's hands and the two whirled around the circle. Annika laughed and jumped up and down, clapping her hands as well. The people quickly joined in on the dance and soon everyone was clapping along. Annika twirled around, holding out her arms, keeping balance. She grabbed onto Eugene from her dizziness and they two danced around together. Eugene watched her carefully and saw so much of Rapunzel in her. Not only did she look like Rapunzel, but Annika moved like her. She danced the same way Rapunzel did, well maybe a little more child-like, and she had the same look on her face as Rapunzel did when she danced. Eugene lifted Annika under her arms and spun her around in the air quickly before placing her back on the ground and twirling around again. It seemed that just as quickly as the music begun, it ended. Everyone stopped dancing and clapped wildly for the musicians, who grinned at them all and bowed.

"Daddy, that was so much fun!" Annika said, out of breath. Eugene led Annika over to a bench so they could catch their breath.

"Did you like that?" Eugene asked, ruffling Annika's hair. She nodded, still breathing hard.

"Can we go again?" she asked eagerly. Eugene laughed and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead.

"Maybe in a little bit, okay? Or we could find your mother. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to dance with you." Annika jumped up from the bench and tugged on Eugene's arm.

"Let's go find her!"

* * *

"You don't want to go dance?" Rapunzel asked Lily, looking longingly at the group of dancing people. Lily stared at her mother with a serious face.

"Mom. I _hate_ dancing. Can we go to the bookstore or something?" Rapunzel sighed but thought the bookstore would also be quieter than out here.

"Okay, let's head over there." Rapunzel held tightly onto Lily's hand as they walked through many groups of people, finally making their way to the bookstore. There were very few people inside and one Rapunzel and Lily were in, they all smiled their way and continued reading their books. Lily headed over to a small section of books in the corner.

"This is where I always get my books," she explained to her mother. Rapunzel followed her and kneeled down next to Lily, observing the books. Lily read all of the titles of the books, looking for ones that she hadn't read.

"Ah-hah! Here we go, haven't read this one." Lily pulled an old, dusty book from the shelf and curled up in the corner. She wiped the dust off the cover and carefully opened the book. Rapunzel watched her daughter curiously as her eyes swept over the pages in the book. Rapunzel leaned back against the shelf and pulled a book at random. She opened it and saw that the pages had been ruined. It must have been left in the rain because the ink was smeared all over the place.

"Oh, that one was my fault. I dropped it in a puddle," Lily said, pointing at the book in Rapunzel's hand. Rapunzel flipped through the pages, not seeing one single page that wasn't ruined.

"Oh, Lils," she said, laughing softly, "You should be more careful."

"It was an accident! I didn't mean to drop it in the puddle. It's not even that bad." Lily dropped her book and crawled to her mother. She took a peek at the book and frowned. "Okay, it is bad." Rapunzel laughed and put the book back on the shelf. Lily leaned against her mother's side and rested her head on her shoulder. "All this celebrating is making me tired." Rapunzel stretched her arm around Lily and rubbed her arm.

"Well, you did have a rough morning," Rapunzel pointed out. "Is it that time already?" Rapunzel glanced at a clock on the wall and decided she should find Eugene. "We'll have to set the lanterns off in about an hour. I'm going to find your father, okay? You want to stay here for a little while?" Lily nodded. "Okay, come up to the castle in about half an hour, okay?" Lily nodded again and Rapunzel gently pushed her aside, standing up. "Don't forget," Rapunzel warned, before swiftly leaving the bookstore.

* * *

"Has anyone seen Eugene?" Rapunzel asked anyone who was listening. People pointed in the direction of the bar. "Oh no." Rapunzel hurried toward the bar, searching for Eugene. "Eugene? Is Eugene here?" People moved aside for her as she entered and she quickly saw Eugene sitting on a stool. "Eugene, it's time to head up to the castle and-where's Annika?" Eugene looked at his wife and took a sip of wine.

"I thought she was with you." Rapunzel shook her head. "She was going to look for you. She said she saw you go into the bookstore."

"Oh gosh, _Eugene_. She didn't come into the bookstore." Eugene nearly dropped his glass and leapt up from the stool.

"Oh no… oh no oh no oh no oh _no_..." He ran is hands through his hair and pulled Rapunzel out of the bar. "Oh gosh, this is my fault. Annika? Anni, where are you?"

"Eugene, where did you last see her?"

"I-I don't know… we were dancing in the circle and then we were looking for you, and she told me that she saw you and that I looked tired and should-at the restaurant! We were outside the restaurant."

"Okay, I'll go look there, but you look in the bookstore. Lily is in there now and maybe Annika found her." Eugene instantly tore through the crowd, working his way to the bookstore.

* * *

Lily was sitting in the same corner, reading the same book when she heard a strange sound. It sounded like someone was crying. She folded the page of her book down and set it on the ground, standing up and looking for whoever was crying. Everyone had left the bookstore, to Lily's surprise. She walked out of her corner and followed the sound of the slight sobs. She ended up in the very back of the bookstore, where very few books were.

"Anni?" Lily asked quietly, seeing her younger sister sitting in the corner, knees pulled up to her chest. Annika sniffled loudly and looked up at her sister.

"Oh, Lils, you're here!" She wiped away her tears and Lily sat down next to her.

"Anni, what are you doing back here? I thought you were with Dad?"

"I was but then-I was going to-look for Mom, and I got lost. I couldn't-find anyone anywhere and there-were too many people out there so I-came in here. I didn't see you," Annika explained, hiccupping slightly.

"Anni…" Lily placed her arm around Annika's shoulders and she rested her head on Lily's shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't-have gone off."

"No, Anni, it's fine, don't worry. Mom and Dad will come here, looking for you, okay? We'll just stay here." Lily held her sister until the crying subsided. There still wasn't any sign of their parents, so they stayed right where they were.

"Annika?" The door to the bookstore suddenly opened and Eugene was calling for his daughter. "Annika, are you in here?"

"See, it's Dad!" Annika smiled and Lily stood up, searching for her father.

"Dad, we're back here!" Eugene barely saw Lily over the bookshelf, and he let out a sigh of relief. He headed to the back of the bookstore and saw Annika sitting on the floor. Lily sat down next to her and Eugene sat on the other side.

"Annika, where did you go?" Tears began to well up in Annika's eyes as she looked up at her father. She threw herself in his lap and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry, Daddy! I was looking for Mommy and I got lost. I couldn't find anyone and I was scared."

"Shh… it's okay Anni, I'm here now." Eugene patted Annika's back and kissed the top of her head. Lily suddenly crawled into his lap as well. The two barely fit there anymore. Eugene smiled and put both his arms around his daughters.

"I love you, girls."

"Love you too," they both said.

"We should find your mother. She's probably worried sick." As if on cue, Rapunzel came rushing to the back of the bookstore.

"Oh, I found you!" she exclaimed, putting a hand over her heart. She raised her eyebrows at Eugene who still was holding his two daughters. Annika saw her mother and scrambled up from Eugene's lap and hugged her legs.

"Mommy, I'm sorry! I got lost and-"

"Anni, it's fine. We found you, didn't we? Everyone out there is getting pretty restless. Would you like to go release the lanterns?" Annika lifted her face from Rapunzel's legs and her face lit up.

"Yeah, let's go!" Eugene and Lily got up from the floor and the family left the bookstore and went up to the castle, for yet another lantern ceremony.

* * *

"Can I do the first one?" Annika whispered to Rapunzel as the lanterns were carried toward them.

"Yes, dear." Annika was nearly jumping up and down, she was so excited. The lanterns were set in front of the family and Annika picked hers up. Eugene leaned over and with the candle, he lit the lantern. Annika lifted it above her head and slightly pushed it into the sky. The people in the marketplace cheered once they saw the first lantern. One by one, they let the lanterns float through the sky. Cheering continued to be heard throughout the whole ceremony and once it was done, the people clapped loudly.

"Happy Birthday, Anni," Eugene said softly, pulling his family into a hug. Annika hadn't seemed to stop smiling since they had found her in the bookstore.

"Look, you can still see one!" Lily pointed out. Everyone looked up in the sky and there was one more small lantern floating high in the sky. They all watched it until it slowly drifted out of their sight.

"Well, another successful ceremony," Rapunzel said squeezing Eugene's hand.

"Now we can get ready for my birthday! And we'll have to release _eleven_ lanterns," Lily said excitedly.

"Lils, your birthday isn't for another five months," Eugene said as the family made their way back inside the castle.

"So?" Lily sighed, deciding it was best not to get so excited about her birthday when it was so far away.

"Okay girls, it's late. Time for us all to go to bed," Rapunzel said, leading them up the stairs and to their rooms.

"Goodnight Mom and Dad. Happy birthday, Anni," Lily said, yawning. She wrapped an arm around Annika's shoulder and squeezed her.

"Goodnight, Lils. Love you." Lily went quietly to her room and shut the door.

"Thank you for the best birthday ever," Annika said, looking up at her parents.

"Oh Anni, you're welcome," Rapunzel replied, crouching down in front of her. Eugene bent over and kissed the top of Annika's head.

"Love you, Anni." Rapunzel pulled her daughter toward her and hugged her.

"Goodnight, my seven year old. Love you."

"Love you too." Annika pulled away from her mother and yawned as well. She turned around and went into her room, shutting the door. Rapunzel stood up and her and Eugene headed for their room.

"Well, another birthday come and gone, huh?" Eugene asked, placing his arm around Rapunzel's waist. She smiled at him and said,

"Another lantern ceremony come and gone, too." Eugene chuckled and kissed her cheek. As they got ready for bed, Rapunzel and Eugene both felt overwhelmed with the fact that their little girls were growing up.

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**My longest story ever written! I'm proud of myself. Okay, so I hope you enjoyed this one, as usual. Don't forget to review :) **


	18. Ice Skating

It was Rapunzel's first day off from lessons in a long time and she desperately wanted to go outside. As she and Eugene went down for breakfast, she asked,

"Eugene, can we go outside today?"

"Blondie, it's the middle of winter."

"So?"

"Don't you want to stay inside where it's warm?" Rapunzel stared at him as if to say, _"Have I ever complained about the cold?"_

"We don't have to go in the snow. But it's our day off from lessons! We should do something other than lazing around." Eugene sighed at her persistence and replied,

"Well, we could go ice skating. If you want." He himself never enjoyed ice skating. At all. But if it made Rapunzel happy, he would do it.

"Ice skating?" Rapunzel asked, "Sounds like fun!" Eugene laughed at her sudden change in mood.

"Since you've never been, we'll have to be extra careful that you don't break your ankle or something. Because you are not breaking any bones on my watch."

"It would probably be best if we avoided that." The two of them headed down to the dining room, Rapunzel anxiously waiting for her first time ice skating.

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Rapunzel ran all the way to the little pond, leaving Eugene in the dust; he took his time heading over there. He saw Rapunzel stop instantly once she reached the pond. Standing right on the edge of the ground, she stared at the ice. Eugene quickly caught up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" Rapunzel nodded, and lifted her foot into the air. She placed it on the ice, but didn't leave her spot. Rapunzel held out her arms as she placed her other foot on the ice. Eugene quickly grabbed her hand before she toppled over. She stood there and once she felt balanced, she grinned at Eugene.

"C'mon, Eugene, now you have to get on!" Eugene took careful steps and soon they were both standing on the ice. Rapunzel held tightly on to Eugene's hand. She lifted one foot off the ice and slowly began to walk forward.

"You know what the trick is Rapunzel?" Eugene asked, following Rapunzel.

"What's that?"

"You don't usually lift your feet off the ground when you ice skate." Rapunzel frowned at him.

"How are you supposed to do that?"

"Well, I could show you, but I'm not very good at it." Rapunzel let go of his hand and stood still.

"So? You can show me." Eugene chuckled and hoped that he wouldn't fall. He wasn't a very graceful ice skater. He slowly began to ice skate and he heard Rapunzel laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she responded, even though she continued to laugh.

"Hey, I may not be the best ice skater, but who cares?" Eugene turned toward Rapunzel and held out his hand. "Let's see how well you can do it." Rapunzel looked down at her feet and held her arms out. At first, she didn't go anywhere, but she eventually began to get the hang of it. She slowly skated toward Eugene and he said,

"See? You're doing it!" Rapunzel didn't seem to realize that she was ice skating until Eugene had said so. She smiled and looked up at Eugene.

"I'm ice skating!" Although, she didn't last long once she looked up from the ground. She was making her way toward Eugene, but once she looked up, she lost her balance and began to fall. Trying to catch her balance, Eugene quickly made his way over to her, and caught her before she fell to the ground. She laughed once she saw Eugene and quickly got back to her feet.

"That was so fun!"

"Gee Blondie, falling on ice sure sounds like fun," Eugene said sarcastically. She wasn't listening, however. She was skating around as if she had been doing it for years.

"C'mon Eugene!" Eugene skated towards her and Rapunzel grinned at him. "This is so much fun, Eugene!" She couldn't seem to keep the smile off her face. Eugene followed Rapunzel around the pond, making sure that she wouldn't fall again. She laughed as she skated around and she slowly began to lower her arms.

"Eugene, come here!" He quickened his pace and she held onto his hand. She slowed down slowly, and caught her breath.

"Tired, Blondie?" Rapunzel nodded, even though she continued to smile.

"Thanks for taking me out here." Rapunzel moved herself in front of Eugene and they both stopped skating. She stared up at Eugene and gripped his hand tighter. Eugene ran his hand along her pink cheek and smiled.

"Cold?" Rapunzel shook her head. She slowly stood on her toes, careful not to fall, and pressed her lips softly against Eugene's. He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her tightly. She pulled away slightly and smiled at Eugene. Rapunzel began to turn away to go ice skating again, but lost her footing. Eugene quickly tried to grab hold of her before she fell, but she flung out an arm and grabbed his hand. She fell, pulling Eugene down with her. They sat on the ground for a few moments, trying to figure out what just happened.

"Ouch," Eugene said, rubbing his back. The fall didn't really seem to affect Rapunzel. She continued to smile and she patted Eugene's arm.

"Sorry about that. Now you know that if I'm going down, you're coming with me." Eugene slowly stood up and pulled Rapunzel to her feet.

"Good to know, Blondie." Eugene held tightly onto Rapunzel as they skated around the pond again. He was hoping that there would be no falls, but of course there were. Both of their spirits were high while they were ice skating, and even though they fell several more times, they continued to skate. Eugene was positive about one thing by the end of the day: Rapunzel was pulling him down on purpose.

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**Hey, it's about time I put up another one-shot! Guess what? 3 more days :)**


	19. Change in Scenery

**Hey, I have a challenge for you! So each week in school we get fifteen vocab words. I challenged myself and I put five vocab words in this one-shot. I know, not quite exciting, but see if you can take a stab at what they are!**

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**

Rapunzel gently lifted her crying child from the crib.

"Sh… Sh…it's okay, Lily, Mommy's got you." Rapunzel delicately stroked her daughter's cheek and held her close. Lily hiccupped into her shoulder and she let out a loud wail. Rapunzel bounced Lily slightly and slowly walked around the room.

"Sh… It's okay Lils…" Rapunzel placed her hand on Lily's back as she let out another sob. Rapunzel wondered when on earth Eugene would be back. Lily was about to wake up the whole castle and Rapunzel could really use Eugene's help. As Lily showed no signs of being quiet, Rapunzel tried something else. Trying to mitigate the crying, she carefully laid Lily on her bed and quickly lay down beside her. Lily squirmed and Rapunzel pulled up the covers. She stroked Lily's hair, hoping she would stop crying.

"Lily, sh… it's all right, everything's okay," whispered Rapunzel soothingly. Lily kept crying and her little hands groped at nothing in the air. Rapunzel rubbed her forehead before taking Lily and sitting back up. Would nothing work? This incessant crying was beginning to drive Rapunzel crazy. The poor child didn't stop wailing and Rapunzel didn't know what to do. Eugene was always here, but Lily had never cried for this long, or this loud.

Rapunzel gently placed Lily's head on her shoulder and patted her back. She began to walk around the room, humming to Lily. The humming didn't seem to work either. Just then, she remembered a trick her mother had shown her. Quickly grabbing a blanket, she set it down on the bed. She lay Lily down on top of the blanket and folded it around her in a specific matter. Her mother had said that it worked all the time, but she didn't exactly know why it worked. Once Lily was all wrapped up, Rapunzel lifted her from the bed, but she _kept_ crying.

Trepidation began to form in the pit of Rapunzel's stomach. Was there something wrong with Lily? And just where was Eugene? She knew he had all the kingdom stuff to work out with her father, but it never took this long. Rapunzel began to vacillate between whether or not she should stay here, or go find Eugene. She voted for the former; she didn't want to wake up the castle more than she already had. Just as Rapunzel felt as though she was going to break down, Eugene quickly came into the room and shut the door.

"Eugene…" Rapunzel let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her husband. He quickly strode over to her and kissed her forehead.

"Sorry I'm late. I could hear her from down the hall."

"I know, I've been trying, but nothing's working," Rapunzel said desperately. Eugene held out his hands and Rapunzel gently handed Lily to him. He held Lily the same way Rapunzel had, and whispered the same things to her.

"Sh… Lils, it's okay…"

"I don't know what to do with her, Eugene. I tried everything."

"Did you take her outside?" Eugene closed his eyes and carefully bounced Lily up and down.

"Outside? Um, no, I didn't think of that."

"Sometimes a change in scenery is all you need." Rapunzel headed for the balcony door and opened it, feeling the crisp autumn air blow into the room. Eugene carried the child outside and Rapunzel followed, shutting the door behind her. Eugene cradled Lily in his arms and she opened her eyed, looking around her. She hiccupped and cried a little, but nothing compared to how she was crying inside. Rapunzel stared at her daughter in disbelief.

"What-how did you-?"

"Told you. Change in scenery."

"Where did you learn to do that?" Rapunzel asked, staring up at Eugene, eyes wide.

"Your mother told me," Eugene answered, handing Lily over to Rapunzel. She stroked the child's cheek and rocked her back and forth.

"My mother?"

"Yep. Said it worked for you when you were a baby." Rapunzel smiled and pulled Lily close to her.

"Thank you, Eugene. You're a life saver. Apparently everything I was doing was wrong," Rapunzel said with a laugh.

"No, no, not necessarily. Lily was just extra fastidious today, apparently. It normally works, right?" Rapunzel nodded and kissed Lily's forehead.

"Change in scenery. I'll remember that one next time." Eugene laughed and kissed Lily's forehead as well, before kissing Rapunzel softly.

"C'mon, she's nearly asleep." The two parents headed back inside and ever so carefully placed Lily back in her crib. They both quietly got back into bed and Eugene pulled Rapunzel close.

"I love you," he murmured, placing his lips against her temple.

"Love you too, Eugene."

* * *

**Sorry if this one was kind of boring. Mother. Trying. To. Make. Baby. Stop. Crying. (That was my robot voice). So yeah, sorry if I bored you to death. Oh, and I always thought that the King and Queen had Rapunzel for at least a few days. Not sure if it's right, but it's sad to think that she was stolen the night she was born! So, did you find the vocab words? Let me know what you think in your review :)**


	20. Silent Treatment

**I knew those vocab words would be easy to find! So congrats to ., MMShadowWolf, and Sheep1215! You win... um... the feeling of... knowing that you can find vocab words...? Yay! And guess what? I OWN THE TANGLED DVD! I think I've watched it 5 or 6 times since Tuesday... :D And I have a surprise at the end to show you all my nerdiness! **

**Crystal Persian also gave me the idea for this chapter.  
**

* * *

Rapunzel sighed as she sat on the bed, tugging off her shoes.

"How… on _earth_ do you wear these all day?" Rapunzel asked Eugene, rubbing her feet. Eugene chuckled and sat next to her.

"How on earth do you not where those all day?" Rapunzel turned to him and jabbed a finger into his chest.

"Hey, I went my whole life never wearing shoes. Be nice to me," she warned jokingly.

"My bad, Blondie. It's just slightly strange to me that you hate wearing shoes." Pascal appeared over Rapunzel's shoulder and gave Eugene a vicious glare. Eugene extended an arm to pat

Pascal's head, but he immediately recoiled and glared at Eugene's hand. He glanced at Rapunzel, then back at Eugene.

"What?" Eugene asked. Pascal squeaked at him and looked away.

"Eugene, what are you doing?" Rapunzel asked, staring at him curiously.

"I was talking to Pascal." Pascal squeaked again, sticking his nose in the air. "Apparently he didn't like what I was saying to you. And now he's giving me the silent treatment."

"Silent treatment?"

"That's what you do when you're angry at someone; don't talk to them."

"Hm." Rapunzel had a mischievous sort of look on her face as she opened her mouth widely before closing it again, looking innocently at Eugene.

"Rapunzel, it's not a game! And you're not even mad at me… right?" Eugene exclaimed, catching on to what she was doing. Rapunzel shook her head, smiling. "Great. Not only is Pascal not talking to me, now you aren't either." Rapunzel patted his hand and hugged him before rising from the bed.

"Rapunzel, sometimes you don't make any sense," Eugene said shaking his head.

* * *

As Eugene had expected, Rapunzel kept her mouth shut whenever she was with Eugene. She thought it was hilarious when he couldn't get her to say something and would burst into laughter, before composing herself again. Pascal was also doing the same as Rapunzel. He had never taken a huge interest in the frog, but he had a feeling Pascal was messing with him as well. Rapunzel spoke to everyone else in the castle, but not Eugene. And it was starting to drive him crazy.

"Hey, Rapunzel? How long are you going to keep this up? 'Cause it's starting to get frustrating," Eugene asked that afternoon, when they were walking in the gardens. Yes, he could have ignored her as well, but he was determined to get her to talk again. Rapunzel shrugged. Eugene placed a finger on his chin and thought of a way to get Rapunzel to say something.

"Hey… hey, Blondie! Do you remember that thing I did when I first met you? And then you broke it? What was that called… the smo… it's was something like… the sm-" Eugene poked fun at Rapunzel, but seeing her jumping up and down, he stopped. She desperately wanted to tell him what it was, even though she knew that he was fully aware of what it was called.

"Wait, I got it!" Eugene placed his hands on Rapunzel's shoulders, stopping her from jumping. "It was the smolder, right?" Rapunzel grinned at him and nodded. "Now… if only I could remember how to do it…" Eugene let go of Rapunzel and began walking again, Rapunzel catching up to him quickly. She was shaking her head and mouthing the word _no_.

"What, you don't want me to do it?" Rapunzel widened her eyes and furiously shook her head. "Yikes Blondie, that's harsh." Eugene stopped walking again and faced Rapunzel. To Rapunzel's dismay, he showed her the smolder. Rapunzel tried her best not to laugh at him, but it was _really_ hard. She snorted and began laughing almost instantly. Eugene stopped doing his smolder and quickly thought of a way to get her to say something. While she was spinning around, trying to stay standing, Eugene got an idea. He rushed over to her and began to tickle her stomach. If it were even possible, she began to laugh even harder and tried to push Eugene off her. Tries came pouring down her face as laughs continued to erupt from her stomach. Eugene felt himself laughing as well and was waiting for her to say something. He tightened his grip around her waist and pulled her towards him, still tickling her. She squirmed and pushed on his arms, trying to get him off, before finally giving in.

"Eugene!" she cried out. Eugene instantly let go of her and she collapsed to the ground, still laughing.

"Hah! I got you!" Eugene exclaimed. Rapunzel wiped at her eyes and caught her breath.

"Eugene, that wasn't nice!" Rapunzel sat up, clutching her stomach and Eugene sat next to her.

"I needed you to say something to me!" Eugene said in his defense. Rapunzel blew hair out of her eyes and stared at Eugene.

"So you had to tickle me to death?"

"Not to death. You're still here, right?" Rapunzel smiled and leaned back on her elbows.

"It _was_ fun though. The silent treatment. While it lasted, at least."

"Easy for you to say." Rapunzel let out a sigh and looked at Eugene.

"Sorry. You can do the silent treatment to me, if you want." Eugene laughed and replied,

"Rapunzel, I couldn't go five minutes without saying anything to you."

* * *

**Yay, for the big surprise! In Tangled, the following are said this amount of times...**

**Rapunzel:54**

**Mother Gothel:34**

**Flynn Rider:21**

**Eugene Fitzherbert:22**

**Pascal:5**

**Maximus:10**

**Blondie:6 (including 1 'Goldie')  
**

**Lanterns:18**

**Tower:10**

**Lost Princess:5**

**Dream:42**

**Hooray! I'm such a nerd. Well, in case any of you were wondering about that... there you go!  
**


	21. Secret

**I would have updated this sooner, but I have been lacking in the motivational area lately... I think it's school. Or perhaps the snow that we're getting AT THE END OF APRIL! Is that lame or what? **

* * *

Even two and a half months after Rapunzel was returned to the kingdom, she and Eugene were still finding new things around the castle.

On this particular day, Rapunzel and Eugene were taking a stroll around the enormous gardens of the castle. Nearly every three minutes, Rapunzel would stop walking and kneel down to smell the flowers.

"Well Blondie, if I were ever to meet someone who embodied the phrase, 'stop and smell the roses' perfectly, it would be you," Eugene said as Rapunzel knelt down again and smelt a bunch of brightly colored roses.

"_Ha ha_," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "But aren't this flowers lovely? I know I've seen them a bunch of times before, but they are so pretty." Rapunzel took one last sniff of the roses and stood back up.

"I believe you," Eugene said with a laugh. Rapunzel slid her hand into Eugene's and they began to walk.

"I wonder how they get these flowers to stay so nice all the time," Rapunzel thought aloud.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked that because I actually know the answer to that one," Eugene responded.

"Is that so?" Rapunzel asked.  
"Yes, you see, your parents hired a wonderful person to come out here and water the flowers every day. And this lovely person happens to love these flowers. And this fabulous person wants to keep the flowers looking nice so that everyone can enjoy them as well. Did I mention how truly amazing this person is? I think-" Eugene looked down and saw Rapunzel staring at him with a straight face.

"And would this wonderful, lovely, fabulous, _amazing_ person happen to be you?" she asked, her lips curling up into a smile.

"Perhaps," Eugene replied. Rapunzel laughed and gently rested her head against Eugene's shoulder before something caught her eye.

"Eugene, what's that?" She rushed in front of him and to the very edge of the castle. She placed her hand on the wall and was looking intently at something. "Eugene, come here." Eugene hurried to Rapunzel and stared at the wall. There were large plants growing over it, but not randomly like they had been before. These plants were intricately swirled around on the wall and it was split into two sections. In the very middle of the wall, the two sides were wrapped around and met in one large circle.

"What do you think it is?" Rapunzel asked, her hands following the plants.

"I don't know. Hey, maybe it's a secret passage," Eugene said, nudging Rapunzel.

"Eugene, don't be silly, why would there be a secret-?" Rapunzel began to say, but Eugene had already pushed on the wall and it slid open, revealing a small room. "Oh." Eugene smiled at Rapunzel and pushed the door open a little more. The two of them slowly walked inside the secret room.

In the corner, there was a small fire burning. Eugene noticed that directly above the fire, there was a large bar of wood, laying on an edge. Rapunzel held onto Eugene's arm as he reached for the wood. He held in his laughter and lit the wood on fire. Eugene took a few steps forward and saw small containers on the stone wall, holding wood in them as well. He lit the first one and continued around the room.

"Eugene, what if there's something bad in here?" Rapunzel whispered.

"Rapunzel, if there was anything bad in here, they wouldn't have put the fire in for us," Eugene replied as he lit the final container of wood. Both of them turned around and surveyed the room.

"Eugene, look! It's a piano!" Rapunzel exclaimed and ran over to the piano. Eugene stared at it quizzically.

"Why on earth is there a piano in here?" he asked.

"I don't know, but it's so pretty…" Rapunzel ran her hands over the keys and sat down on the bench. "Do you know how to play, Eugene?" she asked, turning to him. He rubbed his forehead and shook his head slightly.

"Well, I did kind of teach myself when I was younger. In the orphanage, you know," he confessed.

"Really? Do you remember anything?" Rapunzel asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Um… I might, but it's been _years_…" Eugene sat down next to Rapunzel and stared at the keys. Rapunzel looked at his hands expectantly, as he raised them over the keys. "Don't make fun of me if I stink."

"I won't." Eugene sighed and then slowly began to play a song. He didn't know why he remembered this particular song, but for some reason, it had stuck with him. Rapunzel watched him closely as he played. She never knew he was so good at playing piano! For not having played for years, he was very good. Eugene stumbled at one part of the song and stopped playing for a moment.

"Eugene, that was wonderful! I never knew you played piano," Rapunzel said.

"Well, I didn't think I could still play it. Last time I played, I was a young Flynn Rider."

"I think I like it better when you play as Eugene Fitzherbert."

"Yeah? I'd have to agree on that one." Rapunzel smiled and pushed some random keys down.

"I wish I could play piano… Eugene, would you teach me?" Rapunzel asked excitedly. Eugene held up his hands and said, "Whoa whoa, let's not jump to conclusions. That's the only song I know, Rapunzel." Rapunzel frowned at him. "I'm sure you could teach yourself! You taught yourself how to play guitar," Eugene pointed out. As Rapunzel was about to retort back, there was a soft knock on the door. Rapunzel and Eugene quickly jumped to their feet and turned to face the door.

"I had a feeling you would find this one day," the Queen said.

"Mother! We just… we were…" Rapunzel looked at Eugene, hoping he would help her out.

"No need, Rapunzel," Eleanor stepped in the room and looked around, "Wow, it's been a long time since I've been in here." Rapunzel and Eugene glanced at one another, not saying anything.

"You know about this room, too?" Eugene asked.

"Oh, yes. Jonathan and I used to come in here and play piano together."

"You can both play the piano?" Rapunzel inquired. Eleanor nodded and walked toward the piano.

"Yes, but we don't play much anymore. This was before we were even married," Eleanor said with a laugh, "We used to come in here whenever we wanted to get away, and just play the piano."

"But how did it get here in the first place?" Eugene asked.

"That's a good question. It was here when I was a child. Perhaps my parents made it? I don't think I'll ever know," Eleanor responded. There were a few moments silence before Eleanor sat down on the bench and began to play. Rapunzel and Eugene watched in awe as her hands flew over the piano. She played for a few minutes before stopping, smiling to herself.

"Oh, it's wonderful to play again," she said, standing up.

"Mother, that was amazing!" Rapunzel said.

"Thank you, dear. I'm sure Eugene over here would be more than willing to give you lessons. From what I heard, you're very good," Eleanor said to Eugene. Rapunzel beamed at him.

"Oh, all right. I'll give you lessons," Eugene responded. Rapunzel jumped into the air and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Eugene!" Eleanor laughed and placed an arm on his shoulder.

"Eugene, there's one more thing I need to ask you," she said.

"What's that?"

"Could you go out and water the plants again? The tulips are looking especially thirsty."

* * *

**So this one was different, right? I honestly have no idea where it came from. I think that playing the piano makes Eugene even awesome-r than he already is! Don't forget to review :)**


	22. Mothers' Day

**Hello everyone! Apologies for the long update. Writers block + being sick = SUCKISH! Anyway, I wanted to dedicate this one-shot to my wonderful mom. Love you!**

* * *

"Happy Mothers' Day!" Rapunzel exclaimed, rushing towards Eleanor.

"Oh, thank you dear!" Eleanor said, laughing, as Rapunzel threw one arm around her mother. Eleanor squeezed her tightly and kissed the top of her head. Eugene was standing off to the side, feeling slightly awkward. He never really had a mother to say 'Happy Mothers' Day' too, and he was unsure of how to do so. This was the first Mothers' Day that had been celebrated since he and Rapunzel got married.

"I have something for you," Rapunzel said, pulling away from Eleanor. Rapunzel held out the one arm that was hiding behind her back, showing her mother a wrapped box.

"Rapunzel, you didn't need to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I didn't need to get you anything. Don't worry, I didn't!" Rapunzel interrupted, hardly able to contain her excitement. Eleanor took the box from Rapunzel's hand and unwrapped it slowly. Opening the box, she let out a small gasp and pulled out a frame.

"Rapunzel… it's beautiful!" Eugene took a few steps forward, curious to see what was in the frame. He had not expected there to be a painting. It depicted the very first time Rapunzel had released lanterns with her proper family after being returned.

"Thank you very much, Rapunzel," Eleanor said, hugging Rapunzel once more. Eugene cleared his throat and took another step forward and said, "Happy Mothers' Day, Eleanor." She looked at him for a fleeting moment before quickly handing Rapunzel the painting and pulling Eugene into a crushing hug.

"I never thought I would celebrate Mothers' Day again. Thank you, Eugene. Thank you," Eleanor said quickly. Eugene saw Rapunzel suppressing a giggle. He rolled his eyes and hugged her mother back. Eleanor sighed and stepped away from Eugene.

"Well Mother, I think Eugene and I will go take a walk for a little while," Rapunzel said. Eleanor looked between the two of them, and then winked at Rapunzel.

"All right. Don't be late for brunch!" she added as Rapunzel quickly pulled Eugene from the room.

"Am I allowed to ask a question?" Eugene asked. Rapunzel tugged him outside without answering. Once they had reached the gardens, she slowed down and intertwined her fingers with his.

"Now you can ask a question," she said, smiling up at him.

"Um… what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked, looking at him innocently.

"Is it just me, or do your eyes seem to be slightly larger than usual?" Eugene asked, noticing Rapunzel's eyes going very wide. She furrowed her brow and frowned at him.

"I'm just trying to figure out what you're talking about," she remarked.

"Well the feeling's mutual."

"Actually Eugene, I have a question for you," Rapunzel said.

"Yeah? What's that?" Rapunzel paused for a moment.

"Why haven't you wished me a Happy Mothers' Day?"

"Well Rapunzel, you can't wish anyone a Happy Mothers' Day because you have to be a… um, you have to be a…" Eugene stopped walking and stared at Rapunzel who was smiling at him. Eugene then promptly crumpled to the ground.

* * *

"Yeah, I asked him why he hadn't wished me a Happy Mothers' Day. Then he realized. And then fainted." Eugene heard Rapunzel's voice, but couldn't see her. He realized he was lying in bed and instantly snapped his eyes open. He saw Rapunzel and Eleanor sitting side by side on his left. He suddenly felt a sharp pain running from his neck to the top of his head. A low groan escaped his throat before he could catch it. Rapunzel instantly turned around.

"Eugene! How're you feeling?" she asked quickly.

"I'm feeling confused." Rapunzel gave him a soft smile and from that look on her face, everything came back to him. "Oh gosh. Like I might be sick." He was going to be a dad. _He_ was going to be a _dad_. He propped himself on his elbows and rubbed the back of his neck. Eleanor rose from the bed and excused herself from the room.

"I had a feeling that you would do that," Rapunzel said, scooting toward him.

"What, pass out? Well, it was your brilliant idea to tell me while we were standing on a stone path," Eugene said as another sharp pain ripped through his head. Rapunzel reached on the end table next to her and grabbed a bag full of ice.

"Here. This should help." Eugene put the bag on the back of his neck and groaned at the sudden coldness of it. "So what do you think?"

"Of what?" Eugene asked.

"Of being a dad," Rapunzel answered quietly. He peered down at Rapunzel and saw the nervous look on her face. He pulled her towards him and kissed her cheek.

"It can't be all that bad, right?"

XXXXXXXX

Ten months later, Eugene is leaning over his baby's crib at two in the morning. Rapunzel comes up behind him and pats his back as he lifts their baby from the crib.

"Need some help?" she asks as their daughter wails louder than she ever has. Eugene wipes his hair from his eyes and gently hands Rapunzel their baby.

"You have no idea."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! And you know what makes me happy? 96 reviews! Love you guys :) Oh, and if any of you are reading The Journey Home, I apologize for the long wait on that one too. I'm such a slow updater, but I think you'll all be happy once I update!**

**Don't forget to review :)  
**


	23. Bite

**SORRY! Wow, it's been a really long time. I apologize. I was lacking inspiration. Well, I hope you enjoy this one :D**

* * *

Rapunzel inched closer to the fire as a cool breeze chilled her arms and legs. She watched as the embers danced lazily in the sky before she couldn't see them anymore. She liked these _bonfires_, as Eugene called them. Rapunzel closed her eyes and listened to the cackling of the logs as they burned. She shivered once more, and she wished she had brought a sweater.

"Cold, Blondie?" Eugene asked, walking up behind Rapunzel. He had a sweater in hand and gently draped it across Rapunzel's shoulders when he reached her.

"A little," she replied. "How did you know I was out here?" she asked as he sat next to her.

"It was easy, really. You do realize that you _are_ the princess, right? Nearly everyone in the castle knew you were out here. So I just asked your parents. Can I ask why you're out here, though?" Eugene said. Rapunzel shrugged.

"I don't know. Fresh air? I like these fires. Mom and Dad started this one for me."

"Probably a smart move. You can be pretty scary with a frying pan, and I would not want to see you coming at me with a burning log." Rapunzel laughed and leaned herself against Eugene's side.

"They make me tired," she said. Eugene wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"How long have you been out here?" he asked and she shrugged again. "We should probably get you in. It's feeling a little buggy out here, and I don't think you want a mosquito bite."

"What's a mosquito?" Rapunzel asked.

"It's this bug, really nasty, that sucks people's blood-"

"What?" Rapunzel asked, pulling away from Eugene to stare wildly at him. "You told me vampires weren't real!"

"They're not vampires, Rapunzel. They're tiny little bugs that take tiny amounts of blood. They can't kill you. But they leave you these bites and they get really itchy, and since you've never had one, I think we should avoid them for as long as possible," he replied. Rapunzel, looking horrified about mosquitoes, quickly rose to her feet and beckoned for Eugene to follow her back to the castle.

"Should we put the fire out?" she asked.

"No, it'll burn it soon enough. Let's get you inside."

Early the next morning, Eugene was abruptly woken up by Rapunzel flying into his room.

"Eugene! Eugene, is this one of those mosquito bites?" she asked franticly, flinging her hand in front of his face. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, Rapunzel was showing him all the places she had mosquito bites. Finally, finishing with one on the middle of her back, she exclaimed, "Sixteen! Sixteen mosquito bites in one night! How do you even get them under your clothes? Eugene, this is horrible. I'm-so-_itchy_!" she exclaimed, scratching herself all over.

"Rapunzel, don't scratch them. It makes it worse, trust me," Eugene said, taking Rapunzel's hands. She stared at him for a minute before squirming and trying to get her hands free.

"But it's so itchy!" she said. "How are you _not_ supposed to scratch them?"

"There's a certain cream that will help. You might need a little more, though. Your skin isn't used to being bitten like that and… well I'm sure one of the doctors will have something," Eugene said, trying to comfort Rapunzel. He let go of her hands and stood up from his bed.

"How come you didn't get any?" Eugene had to laugh.

"The mosquitos must think your blood tastes better than mine."

Half an hour later, Rapunzel was lying uncomfortably on her stomach as Eugene put dabs of cream on each of her bites.

"Don't rub it! It just makes it itch more," she said, each time Eugene put some of the cream on a bite.

"All right, I'm done," Eugene said, putting the last bit of cream on the sixteenth bite.

"Thank you."

"It'll get better soon, don't worry. And you, unfortunately, got more than one. Just having one mosquito bite is awful, but having fifteen is-"

"-Sixteen."

"-horrible."

"You're lucky you didn't get any," Rapunzel said, resting her head against her arms. Eugene shrugged.

"I've had plenty before. And I might have a few. They don't bother me as much as they bother you."

Little did Eugene know that there was a mosquito bite on his foot. Over the next couple of days, while he was busy helping Rapunzel with her bites, he failed to notice the very large one, getting bigger and bigger, on his foot. He didn't notice it until one particular morning.

It was three days after Rapunzel showed him all of his bites. Hers were nearly better. Eugene had just woken up and was beginning to get out of bed. He stood up and stretched, before making his way to the door. But it wasn't that easy. On the first step that he took, he felt a sharp pain in his left foot as soon as he put pressure on it. He felt himself falling over, but grabbed the side of the bed before he could hit the ground. Eugene hurriedly checked his foot and saw a massive mosquito bite taking up most of his foot. It was completely swollen and his whole foot was red.

_Oh… great_, he thought to himself. Holding onto the bedpost, Eugene stood upright again. As much as he didn't want to, he hopped on his right foot to his door. He opened his door and hopped into the hallway. He needed a doctor for something like this. But… he wasn't hopping all the way there. Instead, he slowly made his way to Rapunzel's room.

"Rapunzel? Um… I'm pretty sure I've found a mosquito bite." Rapunzel opened her door a little more and saw Eugene standing there, on one foot. She stared at him, confused, as he hopped over to her bed.

"I don't think that's a mosquito bite, Eugene," she said.

"It's a mosquito bite." Rapunzel knelt down in front of his foot and laughed. "Hey, it's not funny!"

"I'm sorry," she said, although she continued to laugh. "It's just… 'They don't bother me as much as they bother you.'"

Rapunzel would never let him live it down.

* * *

**Inspired by a true story! I had a huge mosquito bite on my foot that wouldn't allow me to walk. And it was horrible! But I can walk now. Yay :) Hey, don't forget to review! Oh, and I nearly died when I got more than 100 reviews. I love you guys! :D**


	24. Picnic

**Wait what.**

**WHOA HI.**

**I've only been gone for more than 6 months. I'm sorry. At least I have an extra long one for you guys!**

**P.S. I didn't proofread this. Because I wanted to update ASAP. If you see any errors please let me know!**

* * *

Rapunzel and Eugene were finally given a day off from their difficult lessons. They had been waiting for this day all week and had been expecting to do something fun and exciting. But once the day finally rolled around, they had no idea what to do.

They were currently lounging on a comfortably large sofa in the corner of the library, searching through the many books for a character named Humphrey George. Eugene had told Rapunzel that looking for random names in books was fun, but she found it incredibly frustrating. Rapunzel sighed and leaned back against the armrest, stretching her legs across Eugene's.

"Who taught you this game, again?" she asked, tossing a book aside. Eugene had absentmindedly rested his hand on Rapunzel's ankle and began stroking his thumb gently across her skin.

"Thought of it all myself," Eugene said with a grin and Rapunzel couldn't help but smile back.

"You're terrible at inventing games." Eugene dropped the book he was holding and raised his eyebrows at Rapunzel.

"Got a better idea, Princess?" he asked.

"No. But Pascal certainly does." Rapunzel gestured to her shoulder and Pascal came scurrying from behind.

"What do you mean? He hasn't been enjoying this either?" Eugene asked, dramatically placing his hand over his heart. Rapunzel shook her head.

"Not at all. He's been telling me that you've got a horrible imagination," Rapunzel answered, placing Pascal on her knees. He puffed out his chest and stared confidently at Eugene.

"Wow, thanks, bud. Love you, too," Eugene remarked, feigning unhappiness. He patted Pascal's head and received a low chirp which Eugene figured meant something along the lines of, "who said you were allowed to touch me?"

"So what is Pascal's brilliant idea?" Eugene asked, looking back to Rapunzel.

"Oh, he's got lots of them," she said excitedly. "They're not really games, but anything is better than…" she trailed off at the sight of Eugene's face. "Eugene, I'm just kidding!" she said with a laugh. "Anyway, some of his ideas were baking cookies, playing chess, candle making, ventriloquy, do a puzzle, pottery, or-"

"Rapunzel, we really need to find Pascal a lady chameleon," Eugene interrupted. Pascal glared at him/

"Eugene, those were great ideas! And I'm _sure_ you have much better ideas than those," Rapunzel said sarcastically.

"Yes, actually. Just thought of one." Rapunzel raised her eyebrows. Eugene put a hand up to silence her before she could even say anything and handed her a book.

"Eugene, honestly, I don't think anyone would create a character names Humphrey-" Eugene pressed a finger to her lips and she fell silent, staring at him questioningly.

"Open it to a random page," he said. Rapunzel was still confused, but she did as she was told.

"Where is this going?" she asked, staring at the words in front of her.

"You'll see," Eugene said. "What does it say?"

"What does it…? Oh, I guess I shouldn't even ask. It says, 'Laurie and her friend Cassie didn't want to stay inside on a beautiful day like this-' ugh, this is terrible! Who wrote this?" Rapunzel turned the book over in her hands, as if to see if there was one redeeming quality to it.

"Keep going. Just finish that one sentence. Come on, Rapunzel! You don't want to stay inside forever and let you pretty skin turn gray, do you?" Rapunzel giggled.

"Well, that doesn't sound very pleasant," she said, opening the book again. "Okay, so they 'didn't want to stay inside on a beautiful day like this, so the two girls agreed on having a lovely picnic outdoors-'"

"There you have it!" Eugene cried, throwing his arms in the air. "Thank you so much, m'dear." He then proceeded to giving Rapunzel quite an enthusiastic kiss, given the situation.

Pascal quickly scurried up Rapunzel and attempted to break up the lip locked couple. He didn't mind the short and sweet kisses, but when things were out of hand, he knew that Rapunzel could count on him to break them up.

Once Eugene noticed Pascal, he broke away from Rapunzel, so as to avoid getting yet another slap to the face from the little chameleon.

"Well, there you go!" Eugene nearly leapt off the couch. "Let's go get that picnic ready, shall we?"

Rapunzel, still a little dazed from what just happened, stared at Eugene. He was standing, hands on his hips, grinning hugely at Rapunzel.

"Well, someone's cheerful," Rapunzel said, placing Pascal on her shoulder and getting up from the couch. She looped her arm through Eugene's and they headed for the kitchen.

"Quite frankly, I don't want your skin, or my skin, for that matter, to turn gray. And I'm just glad we finally have something to do," Eugene responded.

"Eugene, I don't think our skin would actually turn gray," Rapunzel pointed out.

"I know, Blondie. Just over-exaggerating."

"Ah. Well, you do tend to do that quite often."

"Yep. A million times a day."

An hour and several tough decisions on what type of sandwich meat to bring later, Rapunzel and Eugene were setting out for their picnic. As soon as they walked outside, Rapunzel pulled her arms around her as the brisk air ran over her skin.

"It's a little chilly to be having a picnic, I think," she said, glancing up at the sky. "And I think it's going to rain." Eugene simply shook his head.

"No, it won't. Because if it does, I swear I'll-"

"Eugene. You really need to not get all wound up about the weather."

"I'm not wound up! Who said I was wound up? I would just much rather it not rain on our picnic," Eugene said.

"I would rather that it wouldn't either. And where is this picnic taking place?"

"It's a surprise," Eugene answered, leading Rapunzel into the woods.

"I hope you know where you're going," Rapunzel said uneasily.

"I do, Princess. It's not too far of a walk."

"Good, because I'm starving."

The two walked for only five more minutes before Rapunzel heard a small stream.

"Hey, we're almost there," Eugene said when Rapunzel pointed that out.

"Are we eating by the stream?" Rapunzel asked hopefully.

"Maybe." Rapunzel frowned at him. Eugene saw the clearing ahead of them and knew they were nearly there. "Okay, here we are." Rapunzel looked at him in awe. They were standing in a huge clearing and to the right, she saw the small stream that she had heard earlier. There were so many different trees and flowers and Rapunzel wondered why she had never been out here before.

"It's beautiful out here," Rapunzel said, heading for the stream. "Let's eat down here." Rapunzel hurried down to the stream and couldn't resist standing in the water. She held the skirt of her dress up and took a few more steps into the water. She curled her toes and dug them under the sand. Right as she was about to turn around and help Eugene unpack the food, two arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and under her knees, sweeping her off the ground.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried, kicking her legs.

"Blondie, you're flinging mud onto my face," Eugene said, shifting his arms slightly.

"Well, you shouldn't scare me like that!" Rapunzel replied and sat still.

"Oh, come on, you know you liked it," Eugene smirked, turning around the bring Rapunzel to their little picnic spot. Rapunzel snorted and wiped the small flecks of mud off Eugene's face. Eugene placed Rapunzel and the small blanket and then sat across from her.

"Sandwich?" he asked, grinning at Rapunzel, who nodded. Watching Eugene make the sandwich made Rapunzel's stomach growl.

"There you are, Princess," Eugene said, handing her the sandwich.

"This looks like the most spectacular sandwich," Rapunzel said, straightening up. She bit into it, and although it was a simple turkey sandwich, it was rather good.

"Aren't you going to make on for yourself?" Rapunzel asked when Eugene kept watching her eat.

"Just wondering if it's any good."

"Well, it is, so feel free to make yourself one."

"You think my cooking is good?"

"Eugene, you hardly had to cook thi-" A huge rumble of thunder stopped Rapunzel mid-sentence and caused them both to jump. "See? Told you it was going to rain," she teased, taking another bite of her sandwich, and smiling at Eugene. He flashed her a smile in return and felt a raindrop on his hand.

"Well, of course it's going to rain. The one day we actually get to do something. We should probably get going," Eugene said, silently cursing the weather as he stood up. And with that, it started down pouring. Rapunzel let out a cry of shock and leapt off the blanket, yanking it off the ground and pulling it over her head. Eugene watched as their food tumbled onto the wet grass and tried to cover his own head with his hands.

"How's that working for you?" Rapunzel called to him, pulling the blanket tighter around her.

"Great, thanks! You should share that blanket with me." He walked quickly over to Rapunzel who promptly took a step back.

"You'll have to catch me!" Rapunzel said enthusiastically, turning around and running away. Eugene let his arms fall to his side, shoulders slumping and he watched Rapunzel running around like a mad woman with a blanket over her head. Everything was a game with Rapunzel. Eugene decided that he might as well try to have a good time; he was already soaked to the bone anyway. He saw that Rapunzel had stopped running to watch him and the instant he started running toward her, Rapunzel spun around, took a step forward to race away, and fell. Fell right into the mud. She sat up, dazed, and looked down at herself.

"Are you all right?" Eugene asked when he caught up to her. She looked up at him, a huge smile on her face.

"Fine," she said. She stood up and lifted her muddy hands between them, eyeing Eugene.

"Don't you dare," Eugene said, backing away. Before he would get away, she slapped her hands on Eugene's chest, covering him with mud and she instantly started laughing.

"You're gonna regret that in about two seconds," Eugene said lightly.

"Am I?" Rapunzel teased. With her fingers still muddy, she ran her hands through her hair, moving it out of her eyes.

"Oh yeah." Eugene lunged for Rapunzel who dodged him quickly, laughing.

"It's a shame that you're too slow, Fitzherbert!" Rapunzel shouted, running away from him. Eugene chased after Rapunzel, determined to catch up to her. Rapunzel ran out of breath quickly and it only made it easier for Eugene to catch u to her. Running up behind her, he swept her off the ground and into his arms.

"Looks like I got you. Again," Eugene said, smirking.

"That's only because I had been running longer than you had," Rapunzel said, crossing her arms.

"Ah. Of course," Eugene answered, teasingly.

"We're both covered in mud," Rapunzel said, wiping her hands over her dress, picking up some of the mud.

"That's only because you fell."

"Hey! You were chasing me."

"Because you had the blanket."

"Because you decided to have a picnic."

"Because you looked at the wrong page."

"Because you're bad at inventing games!" The two looked at each other for a minute, not saying anything. A grin broke onto Rapunzel's face first and she started laughing.

"It all comes back to me, huh?" Eugene said, laughing along with her.

"I'm sorry," Rapunzel said sweetly, patting Eugene's cheek. "But you're not very creative."

"We're having a good time now, aren't we?"

"Definitely," Rapunzel said. She felt herself slipping in Eugene's arms and he placed her back on the ground, keeping her close to him. Rapunzel glanced toward the sky, blinking as the rain fell into her eyes.

"It's letting up," she sad, looking back at Eugene. "What?" she asked after a few seconds of Eugene just staring at her.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just trying to figure out how you can be soaking wet and covered in mud and still be incredibly beautiful," he answered. Rapunzel's heart fluttered and she felt herself blush as Eugene ran his fingers across her cheek. She reached up to her face and put her hand over Eugene's, keeping it there.

"And you can still be incredibly handsome," she said, smiling at him. He gave her a small smile in return and brought his other hand up to cradle her face. He bowed his head, bringing his lips to Rapunzel's. She raised herself onto her toes and wrapped her arms around Eugene's neck, pulling herself closer to him. Eugene brought one arm around her waist, keeping her right there.

Rapunzel didn't know how long they stayed like that. She broke away first, completely worn out, be it from previously running around or from Eugene's kissing skills, but she was tired. She fell back onto her heel and rested her head against Eugene's chest, lowering her arms to wrap around his waist.

"It stopped raining," she said quietly.

"I hadn't noticed," Eugene replied, kissing the top of her head. Rapunzel suppressed a smile and took in a deep breath.

"Love you," she said. Eugene reached for Rapunzel's hands and brought them between the two, separating her from him.

"And I love you," he said, kissing her once more.

When they arrived back at the castle ten minutes later, the king and queen were standing outside, staring at the sky. Rapunzel and Eugene exchanged a glance and looked to see what her parents were staring at.

"Oh, a double rainbow!" Rapunzel exclaimed and her parents instantly turned around.

"There you are! We were… starting to… wonder…" Jonathan trailer off, noticing the state they were both in.

"I know, we look like we just went through a war zone, but we had a good time, right?" Eugene said, winking at Rapunzel. She nodded, grinning, and looked back at the rainbow.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Eleanor asked, walking up to Rapunzel and pulling some dried mud out of her hair. "How did you manage to get mud in your hair?"

"It's a long story," Rapunzel answered, squeezing Eugene's hand.

"Come on, let's get you two washed up. We don't want you looking like this at the ball," Jonathan said, grinning as he took Eleanor's hand and led her inside.

"Ball? _Ball_?" Eugene asked, horrorstruck.

"Surprise!" Rapunzel cried enthusiastically. "Come on, we don't want to be late!" Rapunzel dragged Eugene behind her, taking one more look at the double rainbow that curved directly above the castle. She knew that the ball probably wouldn't be as much fun as she just had, but at least no mud was involved.

"Why didn't you tell me about this ball?" Eugene asked once they got inside.

"Because I knew you'd get upset," Rapunzel said, stopping and turning toward him.

"It worked."

"Oh, Eugene, lighten up! We just ran around in the rain and mud. A little ball is nothing," Rapunzel answered.

"But it involves dancing. Running does not involve dancing."

"Eugene, stop complaining. It's not like you have to dance with a stranger! At least you get to dance with me," Rapunzel said, pressing herself against Eugene in a very un-Rapunzel like way and kicking one of her feet into the air. Eugene raised an eyebrow at her, unsure of what to do. "Unless you'd rather _I_ danced with some strangers. I could do that, if it makes you feel any better," she said, lowering her voice.

"Are you trying to mess with me?" Eugene asked.

"Of course not! I'm just telling you the truth." Rapunzel stared at him, widening her eyes.

"And here we go with the eyes," Eugene said sarcastically. Rapunzel dropped her foot to the floor and took a step back from Eugene.

"Is that a yes?" she asked.

"I suppose," Eugene said, taking her hand and walking toward their rooms.

"You don't really have a choice, anyway."

"I figured that I didn't. It's all for you, though. I probably wouldn't to go a ball for anyone else," Eugene answered. Rapunzel smiled to herself and bumped Eugene with her hip, looking forward to spending the entire ball with Eugene, and no one else.

* * *

**I still love you all. And you may all be unhappy because I took FOREVER to update but I really hope you liked this one! Hopefully you won't have to wait another 6 months for my next update. I've got about 4 one-shots that I've started but never did anything with because I had no inspiration. But since I started my creative writing class, I have so much inspiration.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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